The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in Math. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Comfrey Secondary
Comfrey Secondary serves grades seven through twelve in the town of Comfrey, a very small, rural agricultural community in Brown and Cottonwood counties. The school is part of the Comfrey Public School District and sits within the town itself, integrated into a compact residential grid rather than on a separated campus. The town spans less than half a square mile and its population has been essentially flat or slightly declining, a context of stability rather than growth.
The student body is small and overwhelmingly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a share that signals significant economic need in the community. The school building was rebuilt after being heavily damaged by an F4 tornado, and the town’s two city parks and the school itself serve as the main civic gathering points.
On state assessments, proficiency rates at Comfrey Secondary present a picture that parents will want to examine closely. In seventh-grade math and English language arts, the proficiency rate was zero for the most recent testing year, a result that stands out sharply. Eighth-grade math proficiency was reported at a modest rate, and eighth-grade English language arts proficiency was below that. Eighth-grade science proficiency was very low. When compared to other districts within Brown County, Comfrey Secondary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. Given the very small number of students tested in each grade level—sometimes as few as a handful—these rates can fluctuate considerably from year to year, but the current results are soft across the board. A parent considering the school should discuss academic support and intervention strategies directly with the school administration.
A multi-year trend is not available because only one year of testing data was provided, so there is no way to see whether these results represent a shift or a consistent pattern. The school serves grades seven through twelve, but state testing data was only reported for grades seven and eight in math and English language arts, and for grade eight in science, meaning proficiency results for the high school grades are not included in this profile. The graduation rate was also not available, so a parent interested in high school completion outcomes would need to ask the school for that information directly. Chronic absenteeism data was not reported either, which is another gap a family may want to explore with the school.
The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes in the Comfrey Public School District but found none publicly documented in the available sources. No major program offerings, such as Advanced Placement, career and technical education, or dual-credit pathways, were listed in the data provided.
For a family considering Comfrey Secondary, the school offers a very small, rural environment where the student body is homogenous and class sizes are tiny. The town itself is quiet and agricultural, with limited commercial services and no public transit, so commuting from a nearby larger town is a realistic consideration. The academic results from the most recent testing year are a significant concern, and a parent should seek a clear picture from the school about how it supports students who are not meeting proficiency benchmarks, what curricula and interventions are in place, and what high school outcomes look like for graduates. The absence of a graduation rate, chronic absenteeism data, and any information on advanced or career coursework means a family cannot fully assess what a student’s pathway through this school looks like without asking the school directly.
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