Enrollment
371
Combined
DISTRICT 299 · STATE 353
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST ELK·NCES 200750002013
West Elk Schools
1199 State Highway 99, Howard, KS 67349 · (620) 374-2147 · Elk County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL371 STUDENTS
·
allk12 Grade
Not graded
This school has no state test results for 2023-24 or 2024-25 to grade, which is common for schools that end before third grade. How grades work
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 34.4:1 · STATE 49.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
68%
252 students
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 51%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 29 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 22 | 6% |
| Grade 1 | 28 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 32 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 25 | 7% |
| Grade 4 | 22 | 6% |
| Grade 5 | 24 | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 33 | 9% |
| Grade 7 | 24 | 6% |
| Grade 8 | 25 | 7% |
| Grade 9 | 25 | 7% |
| Grade 10 | 22 | 6% |
| Grade 11 | 29 | 8% |
| Grade 12 | 31 | 8% |
This year's kindergarten class (22) is 12% smaller than its 8th grade class (25).
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 42% · 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
40.8%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
33.3%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 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 | 40.8% | 33.3% |
| 2023-24 | 29.5% | 30.5% |
% 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
34.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
29.7%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 30% 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 West Elk Schools
West Elk Schools's state test result (34.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Elk Schools this school | 371 | 67.9% | 34.5% |
| Centre Lost Springs | 183 | 56.3% | 46.3% |
| Fairfield Schools Langdon | 268 | 49.6% | 27.0% |
| Satanta Elem Satanta | 128 | 64.8% | 36.2% |
| Rolla JH/HS (6-12) Rolla | 50 | 66.0% | 38.4% |
| Central School Atchison | 51 | 76.5% | 7.0% |
Matched among Kansas K-12 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 West Elk Schools ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #4 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 33.3% | #3 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.8% | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 371 | #1 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 67.9% | #2 of 6 |
Ranked against other public K-12 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
371
-15 (-4%) vs 2020
+9% since 2010-11, when it was 339
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
was 11.0:1
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 | 371 | 34.3 | 10.8:1 | 68% (252) |
| 2023-24 | 375 | 34.9 | 10.7:1 | 57% (213) |
| 2022-23 | 378 | 33.9 | 11.2:1 | 56% (210) |
| 2020-21 | 386 | 35 | 11.0:1 | 58% (222) |
| 2017-18 | 373 | 36.9 | 10.1:1 | 63% (234) |
| 2015-16 | 368 | 34 | 10.8:1 | 61% (223) |
| 2010-11 | 339 | 28 | 12.1:1 | 55% (188) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Elk Schools.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (373 to 371); teachers down 7% (36.9 to 34.3).
About West Elk Schools
West Elk Schools is a mid-sized school serving multiple grade levels in Howard, Kansas, one of the schools in West Elk. The school serves pre-K through 12. Enrollment is 371 students.
West Elk has 597 students in 2 schools, and West Elk Schools is one of those schools.
The student body at West Elk Schools is 80% White. The rest of enrollment is 12% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 4% Native American. Among all residents of Elk County, the White share is about 88%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 35%.
Staffing at West Elk Schools comes to 34.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 10.8:1. Combined schools in Kansas have an average ratio of 49.0:1. On the income side, 68% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 67% average for public schools in Elk County.
A school with West Elk Schools's lunch-eligibility share in Kansas is predicted to score 29.7%. West Elk Schools scores 34.5%, 4.8 points above that line.
In Elk County, median household income comes to about $64,609, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. The county's public schools total 5, with about 2,563 students.
West Elk Schools's closest public school neighbor is West Elk Virtual Academy, less than a tenth of a mile away. West Elk Schools ranks 2nd of 6 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 34.5% against a local average of 30.6%.
By NCES locale, the school is Rural: Remote, or in rural territory far from an urban area.
The school's student count decreased 4% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at West Elk Schools. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Elk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,453
Census ACS
Median income
$64,609
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
2,563 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- West Elk Virtual Academy0.1 mi · 226
- Elk Valley Elementary11.3 mi · 67
- Elk Valley High School11.3 mi · 55
- Rocket Online Schools (ROCS)11.3 mi · 1,844
- Sedan Elem23.2 mi · 178
- Sedan High23.2 mi · 182
Frequently asked questions
About West Elk SchoolsHow large is West Elk Schools?
West Elk Schools enrolls approximately 371 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does West Elk Schools serve?
West Elk Schools serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at West Elk Schools?
Approximately 10.8:1 students per teacher at West Elk Schools.
How diverse is West Elk Schools?
West Elk Schools reports a student body of 80% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 4% Two or more.
What district is West Elk Schools in?
West Elk Schools is part of West Elk.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.