Mcdonald Elementary School, North Platte NE

Original Research by School Decision on Mcdonald Elementary School

McDonald Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in North Platte, part of the North Platte Public Schools district. It is a regular public school with a moderate enrollment for an elementary building, drawing from residential neighborhoods in a city shaped by the railroad industry and the massive Union Pacific Bailey Yard. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a mix of household incomes within the attendance zone.

State assessment results show a varied picture by grade and subject. Third-grade students posted a strong proficiency rate in both math and English language arts, with the math result particularly high. Fourth graders also showed a solid proficiency rate in English language arts, but math proficiency was very low, an abrupt drop from the third-grade level that a parent may want to ask the school about. Fifth graders produced a middling proficiency rate in math and English language arts, but science proficiency was very strong. Overall, the school's combined proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands above the midpoint among the districts in Lincoln County, indicating that McDonald performs respectably relative to its local peers, though the fourth-grade math result is a clear soft spot.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on the share of students with disabilities or those identified as English learners was not available in the source. The state testing data shown reflects the 2024-25 school year only, and the trend information provided covers a short span without a clean year-over-year comparison, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent a stable pattern or a recent shift.

North Platte itself is a city that has seen modest population stability over time, with its economy anchored by Union Pacific and newer industrial additions like the Sustainable Beef meatpacking plant that opened in 2025. Housing values in the area are well below the national median, and rents are moderate, making this a relatively affordable market for families. The built environment is largely auto-oriented except for the downtown Canteen District, and the city runs a door-to-door bus system for residents. The district brief turned up no recent notable changes or strategic initiatives that would directly affect McDonald Elementary.

For a family considering this school, the takeaway is that McDonald is a mid-tier performer within its county, with clear strength in early elementary math and fifth-grade science, but a concerning drop in fourth-grade math that warrants a conversation with the school. The student population is not highly diverse, and the economic profile is mixed. The wider community offers a stable, affordable setting with a working-class and industrial character, not a high-growth or wealthy suburban environment. A parent moving to North Platte would want to understand how the fourth-grade math instruction is structured and whether the results from the single year shown are an anomaly or a pattern.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 72 pts above state median · ▲ 72 pts above county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 56% · ▼ 56 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 65% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 51% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 70 pts above state median · ▲ 70 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 55% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 51% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 587%

School 87% · District 84% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 87 pts above state median · ▲ 59 pts above county median

This schoolNORTH PLATTE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 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-income70%Higher-income91%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income78%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income76%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income70%Higher-income91%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income74%Higher-income91%17 pp gap