The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wilcox-hildreth Upper Elementary
Wilcox-Hildreth Upper Elementary serves third through fifth graders in Hildreth, Nebraska, a small rural village in Franklin County. The village is compact, with a business district along Commercial Avenue, surrounded by agricultural land. The population has been gradually declining over recent decades, and the community’s identity is tied to its farming heritage and a stated motto of “Small Town, Big Family.” The school is part of the Wilcox-Hildreth Public Schools district, which combines the two towns of Wilcox and Hildreth, roughly ten miles apart, each with its own campus for different grade bands.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Enrollment is small, reflecting the population and grade band. The student body is almost entirely white, with a very small number of Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a notable level of economic need among families. Because this is an upper elementary school serving only grades three through five, there is no graduation rate to report, and that is simply a function of the grade band rather than an indicator of any outcome.
State testing data was available from the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) for the most recent school year. In math, every tested grade level reported a proficiency rate of zero percent. In English language arts, every tested grade level also reported a proficiency rate of zero percent. In science, the only tested grade (fifth) also reported a zero percent proficiency rate. Multi-year trend data shows that in prior years the school recorded proficiency rates above zero in English language arts, reaching as high as the upper half of students proficient in one recent year, before dropping to the current level. In math and science, the trend data also shows zero percent in the most recent point, though prior points were also zero. The pattern is striking, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about the instructional approach and support systems in place, as well as how the school interprets these results given the very small student cohort, where just a few students can shift percentages dramatically.
Housing in the area is more affordable than state and national benchmarks, with home values well below Nebraska’s typical price and below the national median. This fits the rural context; the village is not experiencing growth pressure, and the local economy is primarily agricultural, with no major employers identified in available sources. The village has a public library and a municipal building that hosts village board meetings. No recent district-level changes around curriculum, pedagogy, or property taxes were found in publicly available records, so a parent may need to contact the district office directly for current priorities or upcoming plans.
This is a very small, rural, pre-K-5 feeder within a combined district. The academic picture raises clear questions. For a family considering the area, the affordability of housing and the close-knit community are defining draws. The academic pathway will depend heavily on what happens at this school in terms of instruction and intervention, and a parent should seek a detailed conversation with the school to understand the methods and resources behind the current testing outcomes, particularly given how much weight a single student carries in a cohort this small.
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