The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Anselmo-merna Elementary-merna
Anselmo-Merna Elementary in Merna, Nebraska, is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of the Anselmo-Merna Public Schools district. The school is located in a very small rural village in Custer County, situated along Highway 2 between Arnold and Sargent, in a fertile loam valley. The village itself is small, with a population that has been essentially flat in recent years and is described as declining at a modest annual rate. Housing in the area is a mix of owner-occupied and renter-occupied units, and the median home value is below the state benchmark, reflecting the area's rural agricultural character. The school is the elementary campus for the district, and given the village's small size, the school is likely within or immediately adjacent to the village center.
The school serves a small enrollment of students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with a very small Hispanic population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the provided records.
State testing results for the most recent school year show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were reported as zero percent across all tested grades. This is an unusual result that a parent will want to look into further with the school. The data does not provide a reason for this pattern, though such a result can sometimes reflect a very small testing cohort, a change in assessment, or a data reporting issue. The multi-year trend data available for the school shows a different picture for prior years, with proficiency rates in both math and English language arts that were higher, though the trend data does not include a clean comparison to the most recent year. The science trend data also shows a zero percent result for multiple years, which a parent may want to ask the school about directly.
The school serves a small enrollment of students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small Hispanic population. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic need in the school community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the provided records.
Because the school serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high school programs such as Advanced Placement, career pathways, or dual-credit courses, as those are not applicable to this grade band. No information on programs, course access, or staffing was available in the provided data.
The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet school. No information on Title I status was provided. The district, Anselmo-Merna Public Schools, had no parent-relevant changes reported in the available research that met the bar for lasting impact.
The comparison data for this school relative to other districts in Custer County was not applicable for the proficiency index metric because the cohort was too small to make a meaningful comparison. No chronic absenteeism or graduation rate data was available for this school, which serves only through sixth grade, so those metrics are not applicable.
For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that it is a very small elementary school in a stable, rural agricultural community. The student body is not diverse, and a moderate share of families have lower incomes. The most recent state testing results show zero percent proficiency across all subjects and grades, which is an unusual figure that a parent will want to discuss directly with the school to understand the context behind the data. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate or secondary program information to consider. The district itself has no major recent changes publicly reported that would affect a family's decision. This is a school that fits a family looking for a very small, rural elementary setting in a stable, slow-growth community.
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