The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Science. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mulhall-orlando Es
Mulhall Elementary School is a prekindergarten-through-eighth-grade building that serves the small, rural town of Mulhall, Oklahoma, and the surrounding area. It is the only school in the Mulhall-Orlando district, so the experience here is shaped by a tight-knit, small-school environment. The school has a modest total enrollment that covers each grade from PK through eighth grade, with classrooms that are small in size. The student body is predominantly White, with a notable American Indian or Alaska Native population making up a substantial share of the school, along with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a handful of students identifying with two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals was not available in the record.
State assessment results from a recent school year give a mixed picture of academic performance, and a parent should explore these patterns further with the school, especially because Oklahoma changed its test scoring standards in this same period, so comparisons to prior years may not be straightforward. In the tested grades where results were reported, the school’s performance was strongest at the earliest grade. In the third-grade reading and math tests, a large majority of students scored proficient or above. Science results for fifth graders were also solid, with a large majority reaching that level. However, performance dropped off sharply in the later grades. In the fourth-grade reading test, the share of students scoring at proficiency or above was much lower. In the eighth-grade reading and math tests, only a small share of students met that bar. Several grade-level results in math and English language arts were suppressed to protect student privacy, a common practice when class sizes are very small, so those data points are not available. Taking all reported proficiency rates across subjects and grades into account, the school’s performance index placed it at the top of the very small group of districts in Logan County, but this county-level comparison involves only a few districts, so local context matters heavily.
Mulhall itself is a very small, predominantly rural residential town with a long history as an agricultural settlement along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The town was devastated by a massive tornado a couple of decades ago that destroyed a large share of its buildings. Rebuilding after the tornado included a new water tower, a community center, and a new elementary school. Much of the town’s commercial and civic core was never fully replaced, and the built environment remains sparse. A single restaurant in the old Bank Building and a historical marker are among the few street-level landmarks. The vast majority of residents commute to work elsewhere, most likely to Guthrie, about a 15-minute drive south, or to the broader Oklahoma City metropolitan area. There are no major employers within the town itself. The population has been in a long-term decline from a historical peak, and there is no indication of new housing development or growth pressure. This is a quiet, isolated small town with a modest footprint.
Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no high school course offerings such as AP, dual-credit, or career pathways apply here. Children who continue past eighth grade would transfer to a high school in a neighboring district. Data on discipline, attendance, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, and special education or English learner populations were not available in the record. For a family considering this school, the core decision points are the match between a very small, rural school environment and their child’s needs, and the clear pattern of higher proficiency in the early grades with a sharp decline in the upper grades that deserves a direct conversation with the building. The community is one where the school acts as a central anchor in a town with few other civic institutions.
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