The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Math. The lowest is 24% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Friend Public School
Friend Public School is a public elementary and middle school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Grady County, Oklahoma. It sits on a county road in a rural setting outside Chickasha, the county seat. Chickasha is a small city of stable population that functions as a regional hub for manufacturing, agriculture, and retail, with major employers such as Delta Faucet and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The school itself is small, with enrollment spanning the full PK-8 grade band.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and a smaller but present share of students identifying as two or more races; Native American students make up a modest portion. Data on economic disadvantage was not reported, so families who want to know the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals should ask the district directly.
On state assessments, results are limited by small class sizes. For grades where data could be reported, math proficiency rates were moderate in the lower grades and lower in seventh grade; reading proficiency was moderate in third grade but lower in eighth grade. Many grade-level results were suppressed to protect student privacy, which is common in small schools and does not necessarily reflect weak performance. The school’s overall proficiency index, averaging all reported subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Grady County. Because the state changed assessment cut scores in recent years, comparisons with prior years are not reliable.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. No information was available about course access, staffing ratios, discipline, or chronic absenteeism. A parent interested in those areas would need to follow up with the school or the Friend district office.
Housing in the area is affordable relative to national and state benchmarks, with median home values and rents below state averages. That affordability, combined with the small-town and rural character of the region, may appeal to families seeking a lower-cost environment.
The Friend district itself did not have any recent parent-relevant changes reported in publicly available sources. The school’s website was not provided in the data, so families should contact the district for the most current information on programs, transportation, and extracurricular offerings.
Friend Public School is a small, rural elementary and middle school with a predominantly white student body and a sizable Hispanic minority. Academic performance based on the most recent state tests is below the county average, though small class sizes mean that individual results can vary widely and many scores are suppressed. For families considering the school, the lack of high school on site means students would transition to another school for grades nine through twelve, likely in a neighboring district or through Chickasha Public Schools. The school may fit families who value a close-knit environment and are comfortable with the rural setting and with the academic performance level reflected in the data.
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