The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Friend High Schools
Friend High Schools sits in a small rural community in Saline County, Nebraska, roughly between Lincoln and Hastings along U.S. Highway 6. The town of Friend has seen gradual population decline over recent decades, though local economic activity in manufacturing, distribution, farming, and health care has increased. The median household income in the area has risen notably in recent years, and housing values sit below state and national benchmarks, consistent with the community's rural character.
The school serves grades seven through twelve and is part of the Friend Public Schools district, which recently merged with Exeter-Milligan Public Schools to form Exeter-Milligan-Friend Public Schools. This consolidation is recent, with formal registration as a Local Education Agency in mid-2025, and it carries implications for school options, class sizes, athletics, and administration that families would want to discuss directly with the district.
Enrollment is small for a secondary school, with each grade from seven through twelve having a modest cohort. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students identifying as Hispanic, Black, or two or more races. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is typical in the region's rural districts.
State testing data for the most recent school year shows a proficiency rate reported at zero percent in math, English language arts, and science for the tested grades of seven and eight. This is an unusual result. The multi-year trend data for the school shows a flat line at the same zero percent figure across five years in math and English language arts and four years in science. A parent or resident should know that this figure likely does not represent actual student performance; zero percent proficiency across multiple years and subjects is almost never a genuine reflection of academic outcomes. It is possible that the data reflects a reporting issue, a small-testing-population suppression, or a change in assessment or cut scores that made the data incomparable. The state's data system flagged the assessment change flag status as "unknown" and the trend comparability as "unknown." The school has a regular public school designation and operates on a conventional calendar, so this is not an alternative or special-population setting that would explain the absence of test-takers. A family considering this school should ask the district directly about its state assessment results and how student performance is measured internally.
The comparison fact set positions this school's proficiency index in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Saline County, though the data limitations make that comparison difficult to interpret with confidence. A graduation rate was not available in the data provided, and no information on chronic absenteeism or discipline was reported. No program offerings were listed in the data, so there is no summary of Advanced Placement, career and technical education, dual-credit, or extracurricular pathways.
The school building itself is located within the town of Friend, replacing an earlier structure destroyed by fire. Civic anchors in the community include the Gilbert Memorial Library, Warren Memorial Hospital, a post office, and a medical clinic. The town's grid layout and compact downtown mean the school is within the small-town footprint rather than on a separate campus.
For a family, this is a very small rural secondary school in a community where population has been shrinking but median incomes have risen. The recent district merger is the most consequential institutional change, potentially broadening resources and course access through a larger combined system. The state testing data, as reported, is anomalous and should prompt direct inquiry before drawing any conclusions about academic performance. The school lacks publicly available detail on many standard metrics that families use to compare options, so a visit and conversation with the principal or district office would be essential to understand the actual academic program and student experience.
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