Sedalia Elementary School, Mayfield KY

Original Research by School Decision on Sedalia Elementary School

Sedalia Elementary School serves children from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the Graves County district, and its setting is rural. The school sits on a state highway outside Mayfield, the county seat, a small city that saw its downtown devastated by a tornado in late 2021 and is still in a rebuilding phase. Families who live in that part of the county send their children here; the school is one of several elementary buildings spread across the district.

The school enrolls a modest number of students for an elementary serving up to sixth grade. Most of the student body is white, with smaller shares of students who are Hispanic or identify as two or more races, and a very small number of Black students. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in a middle range economically for the area. The grade levels are fairly even in size, with each elementary grade from kindergarten through sixth holding roughly the same number of children.

On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, the school's results show a pattern of rising performance in the upper elementary grades. In reading and math, the proportion of students scoring at or above the proficient level climbs from third grade through sixth grade. By fifth and sixth grade, a strong majority of students meet the bar in English language arts, and math proficiency in sixth grade follows a similar trajectory. That trend is a clear strength. In the earlier grades, proficiency rates are lower, especially in fourth-grade math and science. The school's tested science results, which come from fourth grade, are softer, and social studies results, tested in fifth grade, are the lowest of any subject and grade. A parent may want to discuss how the school addresses those areas with the principal or teaching staff.

When placed alongside the other school district in Graves County, Sedalia Elementary's overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint. That comparison is limited because the county contains only two districts, but it suggests the school is performing solidly within the local context. State testing data was available for all grades the school serves that participate in the assessment, and no other academic measures such as a graduation rate apply because the school does not serve high school grades.

The housing market in the area is more affordable than the state and national averages. A typical home in the zip code that includes the school is priced well below the Kentucky median, and estimated monthly housing costs are moderate relative to incomes. Rents also appear manageable. That affordability makes the area accessible for many families, though the slow population decline in Mayfield and the broader rural region suggests limited job growth and a quiet real estate market.

Mayfield itself, where the nearest commercial and civic services are found, has a small-town grid layout that was heavily rearranged by the tornado. The Graves County Courthouse, the historic anchor of downtown, was demolished after the storm, and the city is working through a long recovery. Civic life continues at the public library and through local institutions, but the downtown shopping and street life that once existed was largely erased. The school’s location outside town means it is separate from that disruption, but families who live in the more rural parts of Graves County will find Sedalia Elementary to be a neighborhood school in character.

The district brief turned up little that would change a parent’s understanding of near-term direction. No major program or leadership shifts were publicly reported. For a family looking at schools in this part of western Kentucky, Sedalia Elementary offers a straightforward K-6 experience with a noticeable academic improvement through the later elementary years, in a community that is still physically and economically recovering but remains affordable and stable.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 64% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 64% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 59% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 71% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 72% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 67% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 72% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 77% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Science

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 50% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 56% · ▼ 18 pts below district

even with state median

This schoolGraves County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income71%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income49%Higher-income57%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income65%Higher-income78%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income53%Higher-income63%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income51%Higher-income43%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income75%37 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income74%31 pp gap