Wallins Elementary School, Wallins KY

Original Research by School Decision on Wallins Elementary School

Wallins Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade in the rural Appalachian community of Wallins Creek, an unincorporated place in Harlan County that began as a coal mining town and has since seen decades of population decline. The community is small, scattered along valley roads and the Cumberland River, with a post office, a long-established Baptist church, and this school as its primary civic anchors. The school itself is a regular public school and part of the Harlan County district. It is not a charter or magnet school.

The student body is modest in size for a PK-8 school. The overwhelming majority of students are white, and a very large share qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic realities of a former coal town where employment opportunities have narrowed considerably. Data on the share of students with disabilities or English learner status was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

On Kentucky’s state assessments, proficiency rates varied by grade and subject. In reading and language arts, the strongest performance appeared in sixth grade, where a majority of students scored at the proficient level or above. Other elementary grades showed rates below half, and by seventh and eighth grade, the share proficient dropped further. In mathematics, results were generally lower: third and fifth grade had about a quarter of students proficient, seventh grade had fewer than one in five, while eighth grade showed a comparative bright spot with a little under half proficient. Fourth grade math results were suppressed for privacy reasons. Science and social studies results, available for a few grade levels, also showed modest proficiency, with one seventh-grade science result suppressed.

Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Harlan County. That comparison set is small—only two districts in the county—so the position means the school’s proficiency levels are below the other district’s. There is no four-year graduation rate to report, as the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available.

The local housing market is quite affordable by national standards, with a typical home value that is a fraction of the state average, and that value has been declining recently. The economic context is one of long-term contraction rather than growth, and the community itself dissolved its municipal government several years ago, becoming a census-designated place.

No data was provided on program offerings such as advanced coursework, arts, or career pathways. Information on discipline, staffing ratios, and attendance patterns was also absent. A family considering this school would want to follow up with the school or district about what academic enrichment or support services exist, especially given the proficiency picture. The school serves as a neighborhood anchor in a tight-knit, rural setting, and for families rooted in this part of Harlan County, it represents the local public option from preschool through middle school, after which students would move on to a high school elsewhere in the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 36% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 41% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 49% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 45% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 47%

even with state median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 58% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 52% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 65% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 54% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 43% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Science

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 44% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 43% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 43% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median

This schoolHarlan 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.