The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Stuart Elementary School
Stuart Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in the small village of Stuart, Nebraska, within Holt County. The school is part of the Stuart Public Schools district. For a family or resident considering this school, the picture is shaped by what is available in the data and what is not.
The school’s enrollment is modest, and its student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a substantial portion of families in the community face economic pressures. The school serves a grade range that stops at sixth grade, meaning students move on to a separate middle or high school setting after leaving Stuart Elementary.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show that in every tested subject and grade level, the reported proficiency rate was zero percent. That includes math for grades three through six, English language arts for those same grades, and science for grade five. This is an unusually consistent result across all subjects and grades tested. A parent should want to follow up directly with the school or district to understand what lies behind this pattern, as it may reflect a range of factors, from very small testing populations to changes in assessment administration, rather than a simple measure of student learning. The school’s proficiency index, which averages the reported rates across subjects and grades, places the school in the bottom quartile relative to the other districts in Holt County, using the comparison set available for this county.
A multi-year trend line is available but covers only one school year, 2024-25, so no trend can be assessed. The data for prior years is not present, leaving no basis for comparing current performance to earlier results. For science, two data points exist within the same school year, but again, no change can be meaningfully interpreted.
Stuart itself is a small rural village with an agricultural economic base. The largest employment sectors are agriculture, retail trade, and finance and insurance. The village has a Main Street core and a recreational trail, the Cowboy Trail, which offers walking and biking infrastructure. Community anchors include a park with a splash pad, a museum, and several annual events such as summer stock car races and a July 4th celebration. Population has fluctuated over time, with a slight recent recovery, and median property values increased notably in the past year. Housing costs are lower than state and national benchmarks, and the typical home price is below the national median, making the area relatively affordable.
The district itself has been undertaking a major capital construction project. NCES fiscal data for a recent year shows a large expenditure on construction and interest on debt, relative to the size of the district. This suggests that school facilities have been or are being significantly updated, which is a material consideration for parents who value modern buildings and infrastructure. No specific details about the project were available in search results, so families may wish to ask the district directly about what was built or renovated and when it will be completed.
Some data fields are missing. There is no information on special education or English learner populations, no discipline or attendance data, no course access information, and no staffing ratios. The school’s Title I status was not reported. These gaps mean that a parent cannot assess the school’s approach to student support, its disciplinary environment, or the breadth of its programming from this data alone. A direct conversation with the school would be necessary to fill in those details.
In brief, Stuart Elementary is a small rural school serving a community where many families qualify for income-based support, and where the housing market is affordable by national standards. The state testing results for the most recent year are uniformly low across all subjects and grades, a finding that warrants clarification from the school. The district is investing in its physical plant, which may be a positive for families who value updated facilities. Those considering the school should seek additional information about student support services, class sizes, and how the school addresses the learning needs of its students, especially given the test results on record.
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