Uw Laboratory School, Laramie WY

Original Research by School Decision on Uw Laboratory School

UW Laboratory School sits in Laramie, the college-town seat of Albany County, and operates as part of Albany County School District #1. It serves kindergarten through eighth grade and is affiliated with the University of Wyoming, which gives the school its distinctive identity as a lab school embedded in a university community. The enrollment is small for a K-through-8 school, and the tested grade cohorts are quite small, which means proficiency results can shift noticeably from year to year based on how a handful of students performs.

On state assessments, the school's profile is mixed but tilts stronger in the upper elementary and middle grades. English language arts results climb as students move up: fifth and sixth grade proficiency is strong, and eighth grade holds at a similarly solid level. The middle grades in math also show real strength, with seventh and eighth grade both posting proficiency rates that sit comfortably above half. The softer spots appear in the intermediate elementary grades, particularly fourth and sixth grade math, where fewer than half of tested students reached proficiency. Fourth grade ELA is also on the lower side. A parent looking at these results should keep in mind that each grade's tested group is small, so a few students moving in or out of proficiency can move the rate substantially. The school's full participation rate across every tested grade and subject is a positive sign of engagement with the assessment process.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and the grade band itself explains that gap. Science is tested only in fourth and eighth grade in Wyoming; the school's eighth grade science proficiency is a bright point, while fourth grade is middling.

Demographically, the school is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population and a group of students identifying as two or more races. A modest share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations cannot be described here. Similarly, civil-rights reporting, discipline data, course-access information, staffing figures, and attendance or chronic-absenteeism rates were not provided. Programs and offerings were not available in the data, so a parent would need to contact the school directly to understand what enrichment, extracurriculars, or specialized instruction may be available.

Laramie itself is a university-driven community. The University of Wyoming sits at the city's core, adjacent to a walkable downtown that has been publicly reported as a main-street revitalization success, with local restaurants, shops, microbreweries, and public art housed in historic buildings. The city retains its railroad-era heritage as a Union Pacific junction and sits between the Snowy Range to the west and the Laramie Range to the east, making outdoor recreation a defining feature of local life. The university is the dominant employer, with the hospital and county government also anchoring the local economy. The median age reflects the college population, and the city has been described as growing in its appeal for people seeking college-town culture paired with outdoor access.

For a family considering UW Laboratory School, the draw is likely the university affiliation and the small-school setting within a college town that offers civic and cultural amenities beyond what a typical Wyoming community of this size might support. The academic results are uneven across grades but show genuine strength in the upper grades, particularly in ELA and science. The small cohorts make year-to-year comparisons less stable than at larger schools, and the missing data on special populations, staffing, and programs means a parent would want to ask the school directly about how it supports learners with varying needs and what the classroom experience looks like day to day. No neighbor comparison was available because the county's district set is too small to support a fair comparison, so this school stands on its own in the data rather than ranked against peers.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 62% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 70% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 73% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 62% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 63% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 66% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 59% · ▼ 7 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 68% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 683%

School 83% · District 73% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median

Grade 759%

School 59% · District 69% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Science

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 66% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 64% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median

This schoolAlbany County School District #1, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income80%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income47%14 pp gap