The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cambridge Elementary School
Cambridge Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through fourth grade in the small rural town of Cambridge, Nebraska, part of the Cambridge Public Schools district. Because it serves only early elementary grades, the school does not have a graduation rate or the broader measures that apply to high schools. The enrollment is small, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with a high rate of economic need. The student body is almost entirely white, with a very small number of Hispanic and Black students.
Cambridge itself is a village in Furnas County, southwest Nebraska, where U.S. Route 6 and 34 run through the heart of town. It is a low-density, auto-oriented community with a compact downtown near the highway. The town has basic civic amenities, including a park with a swimming pool, sports courts, trails, a disc-golf course, and campgrounds, as well as a library, a museum, a public golf course, and a state recreation area a short drive north. The housing market is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, with home values having edged downward recently. The population has seen a modest decline over the past few years, consistent with many rural Nebraska towns.
Cambridge Public Schools, which operates a single campus covering kindergarten through grade twelve, includes Cambridge Elementary as its primary building. The district brief turned up no major recent changes such as bonds, curriculum overhauls, or tax overrides that would affect families directly. The school does not appear to be a charter or magnet and has no publicly listed Title I status, but given the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, it likely receives federal supports.
State testing results for the most recent year show very low proficiency rates in both math and reading across the tested grades of three and four. Earlier years in the multi-year trend had proficiency rates well above typical benchmarks, but the most recent data reports zero percent proficient. The data does not explain this shift — it could reflect a change in the assessment, a different student cohort, or an instructional disruption — and a parent may want to ask the school directly about current academic performance and what steps are being taken. When compared against other districts in Furnas County, Cambridge Elementary’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile, a position driven largely by that recent drop.
No information is available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing, and the school does not report special education or English learner counts.
This is a small rural elementary school in a community with stable but modestly declining population, affordable housing, and a mostly homogeneous student body. It serves families in and around Cambridge for the early grades. The academic picture has a sharp recent contrast — strong past performance followed by very low current scores — so families considering this school would be wise to investigate the reasons behind that change and what the school is doing to address it. There are no programs or pathways to describe because the grade band is limited. The school's role is to provide foundational instruction in reading and math, and the data suggests that mission has had an uneven year.
See more original research from School Decision →