The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Newman Grove High School
Newman Grove High School is the secondary campus of the Newman Grove Public Schools district, serving grades seven through twelve in a single building in the small rural town of Newman Grove, Nebraska. The school sits within a compact community where the downtown, churches, and school are all within walking distance of one another, a pattern typical of Plains farming towns. The town itself has seen population decline in recent decades, though its demographic profile has shifted: publicly reported sources note a notably higher diversity index compared with peer Nebraska communities, driven by a Hispanic population that makes up a meaningful share of residents, along with a modest foreign-born population, many from Guatemala and Mexico. The local economy is anchored by manufacturing, health care, and retail, with agriculture prominent in the surrounding area.
The school enrolls a small total student body across its six grade levels. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the area. The student population is predominantly white, with a visible Hispanic minority and a very small number of Black students; no other racial or ethnic groups are represented in the enrollment data. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data we reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those programs and supports.
State assessment results for the most recent school year are mixed and illustrate the volatility that can occur when a school measures proficiency in very small grade-level cohorts. In grade seven, math proficiency was strong, while ELA proficiency in that same grade was zero percent. In grade eight, the pattern reversed: ELA proficiency was solid, math proficiency was zero percent, and science proficiency was moderate. Because each grade-level group contains only a handful of students, a single year’s results can swing sharply. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Madison County, a position that reflects those low-performing grade-level results. The school has no multi-year trend data that would show whether these are anomalies or a pattern, so a parent might want to ask about consistency over time and about how the school addresses areas where students are struggling.
No graduation rate was reported for Newman Grove High School. Since the school serves grades seven through twelve, a graduation rate would normally be expected, and its absence in the data may stem from small cohort sizes or data suppression. A parent checking on college or career readiness should follow up directly with the district.
The district itself, Newman Grove Public Schools, covers the town and surrounding area. We looked for recent developments such as bond issues, program additions, or leadership changes that would be relevant to a family considering the school, but no such parent-relevant changes were identified in publicly available sources.
Housing in the zip code area is relatively affordable. The typical home value sits well below state and national benchmarks, and monthly mortgage costs for a median-priced home are modest relative to incomes. For a family moving into the area, the housing market offers an accessible entry point compared with many other parts of Nebraska. The town’s small size means there is no separation between the residential core and the school campus; civic life and school life are closely integrated.
Newman Grove High School offers a traditional secondary education in a rural setting with a small student body where each class size is very small. The academic picture from the most recent testing year is uneven, with strong results in some subjects and grade levels and weak results in others, and the lack of a graduation rate in the data leaves a gap in what a family can assess about outcomes. A parent interested in the school will want to ask about academic support for the grade levels where proficiency was low, about how the school prepares students for life after high school, and about the stability of the teaching staff and programs over time.
See more original research from School Decision →