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What's something Colby Elem does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
369
Elementary
DISTRICT 319 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLBY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 200501000571
Colby Elem
210 N Grant Ave, Colby, KS 67701 · (785) 460-5100 · Thomas County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL369 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 18% of Kansas public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
15.4:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
145 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 51%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 45 | 12% |
| Kindergarten | 69 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 65 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 67 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 58 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (69) is 19% larger than its 4th grade class (58).
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 36% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Colby Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
40.2%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
42.4%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 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 | 40.2% | 42.4% |
| 2023-24 | 24.6% | 38.8% |
% 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
36.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.4%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Colby Elem
Colby Elem's state test result (36.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colby Elem this school | 369 | 39.3% | 36.5% |
| Roosevelt Elem Hays | 420 | 41.4% | 47.7% |
| Woodrow Wilson Elem Hays | 364 | 37.9% | 51.8% |
| Lansing Intermediate School Lansing | 370 | 40.8% | 44.2% |
| Union Valley Elem Hutchinson | 435 | 40.5% | 44.8% |
| Wheatland Elem Valley Center | 325 | 43.7% | 54.4% |
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 Colby Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.5% | #407 of 625 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.4% | #309 of 625 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.2% | #445 of 625 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 369 | #244 of 714 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #447 of 539 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.0% | #343 of 540 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.3% | #481 of 658 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.2% | #85 of 151 |
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
369
-22 (-6%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 631
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 16.3:1
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 | 369 | 24 | 15.4:1 | 39% (145) |
| 2023-24 | 399 | 21 | 19.0:1 | 43% (172) |
| 2022-23 | 409 | 24.5 | 16.7:1 | 45% (184) |
| 2020-21 | 391 | 24 | 16.3:1 | 45% (174) |
| 2017-18 | 341 | 20.6 | 16.5:1 | 46% (157) |
| 2015-16 | 351 | 24 | 14.6:1 | 48% (167) |
| 2010-11 | 376 | 28 | 13.4:1 | 48% (181) |
| 2000-01 | 412 | 33 | 12.5:1 | 33% (136) |
| 1990-91 | 631 | 37 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Colby Elem.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (341 to 369); teachers up 16% (20.6 to 24).
About Colby Elem
Colby Elem is a medium-sized elementary school in Colby, Kansas. The school's enrollment of 369 students covers pre-K through 4.
Colby Public Schools operates 3 schools. Combined enrollment is 958 students.
White students are the majority at Colby Elem, with 76% of enrollment. Other groups include 19% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 90% White. Colby Elem's diversity index is 38%, against a US figure of 70%.
Colby Elem's 24 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 15.4:1. On average, elementary schools in Kansas have 13.2:1, compared with 15.4:1 here. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 39%. For comparison, public schools in Thomas County average 37%.
allk12 grades Colby Elem a C-. The grade compares the school only with Kansas public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The model predicts 43.4% for a school in Kansas with Colby Elem's free or reduced-price lunch share. Colby Elem posts 36.5%.
Colby Elem is located in Thomas County, where the median household income is $71,325, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 35%, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Besides Colby Elem, Thomas County has 6 other public schools.
Colby Middle School is the closest public school, less than a tenth of a mile away in a straight line. Other public schools within five miles number 2. Among 8 nearby schools that report test results, Colby Elem ranks 1st on proficiency.
NCES assigns Colby Elem the locale Town: Remote, meaning in a town far from an urbanized area.
Enrollment is down 6% from 2020-21, when Colby Elem had 391 students, to 2024-25, when it had 369.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Thomas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
7,885
Census ACS
Median income
$71,325
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
7
1,169 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Colby Public Schools
- Colby Senior HighHigh · 296 students
- Colby Middle SchoolMiddle · 293 students
Other schools in Colby
- Colby Senior HighHigh · 296 students
- Colby Middle SchoolMiddle · 293 students
Other Colby Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Colby Elementary. Colby Elem is the largest of the 2.
- Colby ElementaryColby, WI · 354 students
Nearby schools
- Colby Middle School0.1 mi · 293
- Colby Senior High1.6 mi · 296
- Golden Plains Middle17.2 mi · 32
- Golden Plains High17.2 mi · 55
- Brewster Elem17.4 mi · 90
- Brewster High17.4 mi · 34
Frequently asked questions
About Colby ElemHow many students attend Colby Elem?
Colby Elem enrolls approximately 369 students in grades PK-04.
What grades does Colby Elem serve?
Colby Elem serves grades PK-04.
How many students per teacher at Colby Elem?
Approximately 15.4:1 students per teacher at Colby Elem.
How diverse is Colby Elem?
Colby Elem reports a student body of 76% White, 19% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Colby Elem?
Colby Elem is overseen by Colby Public Schools in Thomas County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.