Enrollment
381
Elementary
DISTRICT 437 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DODGE CITY·NCES 200558001089
Central Elem
1100 Central Avenue, Dodge City, KS 67801 · (620) 471-2104 · Ford County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL381 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% of Kansas public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Kansas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
362 students
DISTRICT 85% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 63 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 62 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 65 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (63) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (63).
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 58% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
18.5%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
13.8%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 19 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kansas schools, those numbers are about 45 and 39.
KAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 18.5% | 13.8% |
| 2023-24 | 8.1% | 14.4% |
% Meeting + Exceeding, all students and all tested grades. Kansas set new KAP cut scores in spring 2025, so results from 2023-24 and earlier are not comparable with later years.
Source: KAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
13.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
16.7%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 14% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 17% typical for Kansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Kansas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Central Elem
Central Elem's state test result (13.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Elem this school | 381 | 95.0% | 13.6% |
| Sunnyside Elem Dodge City | 365 | 96.2% | 14.7% |
| Beeson Elementary Dodge City | 355 | 94.1% | 21.7% |
| Meadowlark Elementary School Liberal | 362 | 97.5% | 10.8% |
| Scott Dual Language Magnet Topeka | 402 | 91.5% | 28.0% |
| Irving Elementary Wichita | 447 | 95.5% | 16.5% |
Matched among Kansas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Central Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas | In Ford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 13.6% | #612 of 625 | #10 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 13.8% | #584 of 625 | #9 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 18.5% | #612 of 625 | #9 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 381 | #219 of 714 | #3 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.5:1 | #521 of 539 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.1% | #507 of 540 | #7 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.0% | #13 of 658 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +46.0% | #5 of 151 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
381
+62 (+19%) vs 2020
+16% since 1990-91, when it was 328
Student : Teacher
18.5:1
was 18.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 381 | 20.6 | 18.5:1 | 95% (362) |
| 2023-24 | 387 | 18.5 | 20.9:1 | 93% (359) |
| 2022-23 | 360 | 15 | 24.0:1 | 94% (338) |
| 2020-21 | 319 | 17 | 18.8:1 | 92% (293) |
| 2017-18 | 261 | 17 | 15.3:1 | 92% (240) |
| 2015-16 | 268 | 15 | 17.9:1 | 95% (255) |
| 2010-11 | 326 | 19 | 17.2:1 | 93% (302) |
| 2000-01 | 390 | 18 | 21.7:1 | 60% (235) |
| 1990-91 | 328 | 17 | 19.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Elem.
Since 2017-18: students up 46% (261 to 381); teachers up 21% (17 to 20.6).
About Central Elem
Students in Dodge City, Kansas, attend Central Elem, a mid-sized elementary school. Students in kindergarten through 5 make up the school's enrollment of 381 students. That compares with an average of about 313 students for elementary schools in Kansas.
Dodge City has 7,268 students spread across 11 schools.
At Central Elem, 90% of students are Hispanic. The remaining students are 6% White. Census figures show Ford County is about 59% Hispanic. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Central Elem scores 18%.
Based on 20.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, Central Elem has a ratio of 18.5:1. Compared with the 13.2:1 average for elementary schools in Kansas, this school's ratio is higher. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 95%. Among public schools in Ford County, the average eligibility rate is 80%.
Central Elem holds an F allk12 Grade, placing it above 4% of Kansas public elementary schools.
A school with Central Elem's lunch-eligibility share in Kansas is predicted to score 16.7%. Central Elem scores 13.6%, 3.1 points below that line.
In Ford County, home to about 34,074 people, median household income comes to about $70,781, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Ford County's 15 public schools enroll about 7,836 students and include Central Elem.
Of the public schools around it, Central Elem is closest to Comanche Middle School, about 0.4 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Central Elem ranks 9th of 9 on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Central Elem as Town: Remote.
A 19% rise took enrollment from 319 in 2020-21 to 381 in 2024-25.
This page collects posts and questions about Central Elem, such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Ford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
34,074
Census ACS
Median income
$70,781
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
7,836 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Dodge City
- Dodge City High SchoolHigh · 2,178 students
- Dodge City Middle SchoolMiddle · 808 students
- Comanche Middle SchoolMiddle · 783 students
- Miller ElemElementary · 780 students
- Ross Elementary SchoolElementary · 502 students
- Northwest ElemElementary · 380 students
Other schools in Dodge City
- Dodge City High SchoolHigh · 2,178 students
- Dodge City Middle SchoolMiddle · 808 students
- Comanche Middle SchoolMiddle · 783 students
- Miller ElemElementary · 780 students
- Ross Elementary SchoolElementary · 502 students
- Northwest ElemElementary · 380 students
Other Central Elementary schools
151 other US public schools in 35 states are named Central Elementary. Central Elem is the 73rd largest of the 152.
- Central ElemWamego, KS · 357 students
- Central ElemColumbus, KS · 348 students
- Central ElemOlathe, KS · 254 students
- Central ElemBaxter Springs, KS · 223 students
- Central ElemBurden, KS · 162 students
Nearby schools
- Comanche Middle School0.4 mi · 783
- Miller Elem0.5 mi · 780
- Dodge City Middle School0.9 mi · 808
- Soule Elementary School0.9 mi · 375
- Northwest Elem1.0 mi · 380
- Sunnyside Elem1.3 mi · 365
Frequently asked questions
About Central ElemWhat is the total enrollment at Central Elem?
Central Elem enrolls approximately 381 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Central Elem serve?
Central Elem serves grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Central Elem?
Approximately 18.5:1 students per teacher at Central Elem.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central Elem?
At Central Elem, the student body is approximately 6% White, 90% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Central Elem public or private?
Central Elem is a public K-12 school, overseen by Dodge City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.