Enrollment
62
Elementary
DISTRICT 47 · STATE 313
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WESTERN PLAINS·NCES 200002000496
Western Plains North Elem
100 School St., Ransom, KS 67572 · (785) 731-2352 · Ness County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL62 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% of Kansas public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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
11.1:1
6 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 7.7:1 · STATE 13.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
43 students
DISTRICT 67% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 7 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 8 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 3 | 5% |
| Grade 2 | 3 | 5% |
| Grade 3 | 6 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 6 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 7 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 6 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 8 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 8 | 13% |
Student demographics
21%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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
Western Plains North Elem→Western Plains High
Based on grade levels within Western Plains. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KAP 2024-25 . % Meeting + ExceedingEnglish Language Arts
46.3%
KS avg 44.5%
Math
43.9%
KS avg 38.8%
What this means: On the KAP, Kansas's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 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 | 46.3% | 43.9% |
| 2023-24 | 41.7% | 38.9% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of KS schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
46.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
29.0%
based on KS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+17.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 29% typical for Kansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 18 points, placing it in Kansas's top 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 Western Plains North Elem
Western Plains North Elem's state test result (46.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Plains North Elem this school | 62 | 69.4% | 46.8% |
| Altoona-Midway Elementary Altoona | 72 | 69.4% | 48.5% |
| Natoma Elem Natoma | 57 | 64.9% | 49.4% |
| Marais Des Cygnes Valley Elem Quenemo | 87 | 69.0% | 46.6% |
| Greeley Elem Greeley | 52 | 75.0% | 33.0% |
| Tescott Elem Tescott | 69 | 76.8% | 48.2% |
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 Western Plains North Elem ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 62 | #692 of 714 |
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
62
+20 (+48%) vs 2020
+72% since 2010-11, when it was 36
Student : Teacher
11.1:1
was 8.4:1
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 | 62 | 5.6 | 11.1:1 | 69% (43) |
| 2023-24 | 58 | 5.4 | 10.7:1 | 60% (35) |
| 2022-23 | 56 | 5.4 | 10.4:1 | 64% (36) |
| 2020-21 | 42 | 5 | 8.4:1 | 48% (20) |
| 2017-18 | 31 | 3.3 | 9.4:1 | 32% (10) |
| 2015-16 | 24 | 3 | 8.0:1 | 50% (12) |
| 2010-11 | 36 | 4 | 9.0:1 | 53% (19) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Plains North Elem.
Since 2017-18: students up 100% (31 to 62); teachers up 70% (3.3 to 5.6).
About Western Plains North Elem
Western Plains North Elem is a small elementary school in Kansas, located in Ransom. The school serves 62 students in pre-K through 8 in 2024-25. For comparison, elementary schools in Kansas average about 313 students.
Western Plains includes 3 schools. Together they enroll 127 students.
The student body at Western Plains North Elem is 89% White. The rest of enrollment is 5% multiracial, 3% Hispanic, and 3% Pacific Islander. Western Plains North Elem's diversity index is 21%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.1:1 at Western Plains North Elem, with 5.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. On average, elementary schools in Kansas have 13.2:1, compared with 11.1:1 here. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 69% of enrollment. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Ness County is 48%.
Measured against Kansas public elementary schools, Western Plains North Elem receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 29.0% for Western Plains North Elem, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 46.8%. The 17.8-point gap ranks in the top 10% of Kansas schools.
Federal survey data for Ness County show that the median household income is $68,616, about 25% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Ness County is home to 5 public schools and about 404 public school students.
The closest other public school is Western Plains High, less than a tenth of a mile away. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, Western Plains North Elem ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Remote.
Federal counts for Western Plains North Elem: 42 students in 2020-21, 62 in 2024-25. A gap this wide can follow a change in the grades offered. The ratio was 8.4:1 in 2020-21 and 11.1:1 in 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Western Plains North Elem covering things like sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Ness County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,653
Census ACS
Median income
$68,616
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
5
404 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Western Plains
- Western Plains HighHigh · 34 students
- Western Plains South Elem/Jr HighElementary · 31 students
Nearby schools
- Western Plains High0.0 mi · 34
- Ness City Elem12.9 mi · 155
- Ness City High13.0 mi · 122
- Western Plains South Elem/Jr High18.8 mi · 31
- Trego Community High26.8 mi · 113
- Trego Grade School27.1 mi · 285
Frequently asked questions
About Western Plains North ElemHow large is Western Plains North Elem?
Western Plains North Elem enrolls approximately 62 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Western Plains North Elem serve?
Western Plains North Elem serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Western Plains North Elem?
Approximately 11.1:1 students per teacher at Western Plains North Elem.
What is the student diversity at Western Plains North Elem?
Student demographics at Western Plains North Elem are roughly 89% White, 3% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
What district is Western Plains North Elem in?
Western Plains North Elem is part of Western Plains.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.