The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wakonda Elementary School
Wakonda Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in Omaha Public Schools, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. For a family choosing an elementary school, this is a mid-sized school in an older, central Omaha neighborhood, and understanding what kind of academic foundation it provides begins with the state testing results, which are a central fact for any parent evaluating the school.
The most recent state assessment data, from the 2024-25 school year, shows that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were at zero percent in every tested grade. Across the district’s elementary schools, this placed Wakonda in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency. A parent should look into this further with the school, because a zero-percent proficiency rate across all subjects and grades is an extraordinary result that may reflect a very small testing population, a specific cohort issue, or another factor not visible in the data alone. The school’s reported multi-year trend for English language arts shows a decline from a low rate to an even lower one, which reinforces the need for a direct conversation about what the school’s assessment data means in practice. The science and math trend data are also reported at zero percent, making it impossible to gauge any growth trajectory in those subjects.
Enrollment at Wakonda is fairly typical for a mid-sized elementary school, with a student body that is majority Black, about one in seven students identified as Asian, and smaller shares of Hispanic, white, and multiracial students. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not available, and neither was data on students with disabilities or English learners, so a full picture of the school’s economic and academic support needs is incomplete. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported.
The district’s context adds an important layer. Omaha Public Schools, one of the largest districts in Nebraska, launched a major literacy initiative in 2024 called Moonshot, with the goal of every student reading on grade level by 2030. This initiative is built on the Science of Reading and structured literacy, and it is central to the district’s strategic plan through 2030. For a family at Wakonda, this means that the reading instruction their child receives may be undergoing a sustained, district-wide shift. It is a change that would apply across all elementary schools in OPS, so it is relevant to any parent in the district, but particularly to those whose child is at a school with low test scores.
Omaha itself is the state’s economic and cultural center, a large, sprawling city with a diversified economy anchored by major corporate headquarters in finance, engineering, and logistics. Housing in the zip code that covers the Wakonda attendance area is priced below the statewide and national medians, with home values having held roughly steady over the past year. Rents have risen modestly, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median home is roughly comparable to the median rent, a balance that may give a family some flexibility in choosing whether to rent or buy in this part of the city. The walkable, historic core of Omaha is downtown and the Old Market, but the school itself is in a residential neighborhood that is primarily car-dependent, like most of the city’s built environment.
A parent considering Wakonda is looking at a school where the academic data is profoundly low and where the district has committed to a long-term, foundational shift in reading instruction. The school serves a diverse, majority-Black student body in a mid-sized elementary setting within a large urban district. The combination of very low test scores and a district-wide literacy initiative means a family should seek a detailed understanding of the school’s instructional approach, its specific progress with the Moonshot program, and how it supports students who are not yet at grade level.
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