The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Diller-odell Secondary School
Diller-Odell Secondary School serves students in seventh through twelfth grade in the village of Odell, Nebraska, as part of the Diller-Odell Public Schools district. The school sits at the center of a very small, rural community described as a quiet village nestled off the backroads of southeast Nebraska. Odell itself is compact, with a Main Street of small local businesses and surrounding residential areas, and the school building is located on Perry Street right in town. The village has experienced a slight population decline in recent years, and the broader Gage County area is predominantly agricultural and rural.
The school enrolls a small student body for a secondary school serving six grade levels. The student population is overwhelmingly white, with a very small share of Hispanic and Asian students and no Black or Native American students reported. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places it below the national average for low-income eligibility but still notable in a community where household incomes and housing costs are modest. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was reported. Information on special education enrollment and English learner numbers was not available.
Academically, the picture is mixed and comes with important missing pieces. On state assessments administered in seventh and eighth grades, the most recent results showed zero percent of students scoring proficient in math, English language arts, and science. That figure places the school in the bottom quartile of proficiency among districts in Gage County, where the median district sees a much higher proficiency rate. However, the school’s multi-year trend data indicates that in a prior year, the ELA proficiency rate was substantially higher, which suggests that the current zero-percent figure may reflect a change in assessment, a particularly small cohort, or another factor that a parent would want to investigate with the school directly. No state testing data was available for the high school grades, and the school had no reported graduation rate, so a key measure of upper-secondary success is absent from the public record. A parent considering this school may want to ask about high school outcomes, college or career pathways, and how the district is addressing the recent dip in tested grades.
The school offers no data on program offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, or career and technical education courses. The district brief turned up no publicly reported recent changes or strategic priorities. The broader context of Gage County includes several other districts, and Diller-Odell Secondary School’s performance stands as a notable outlier on the low side of proficiency in the county.
Housing in the area is relatively affordable. Home values in Odell are below both the state and national medians, and the market has seen a modest year-over-year decline. Renting is also an option, with typical rents consuming a modest share of income. The area’s unemployment rate is near the national average, and median household income has been rising slowly in recent years. For families who value a small, rural school where their child will be part of a tight-knit community, this school fits that profile. For those looking for strong academic test results or clear evidence of high school success metrics, the public data raises questions worth exploring further with the district.
See more original research from School Decision →