Enrollment
269
Elementary
DISTRICT 357 · STATE 421
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OHIO COUNTY·NCES 210450001118
Southern Elementary School
3836 US Hwy 231 S, Beaver Dam, KY 42320 · (270) 274-3462 · Ohio County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL269 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 83% of Kentucky public elementary schools
- A-Test 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 Kentucky public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
65%
174 students
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 63%
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 | 18 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 36 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 42 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 35 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 34 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 31 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 32 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (36) is 13% larger than its 6th grade class (32).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 47% · 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 Ohio County. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
58.5%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
55.0%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.
Source: KSA (K-PREP). All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of KY schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
57.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.0%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 41% typical for Kentucky 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 16 points, placing it in Kentucky'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 Southern Elementary School
Southern Elementary School's state test result (57.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Elementary School this school | 269 | 64.7% | 57.4% |
| East Calloway Elementary School Murray | 310 | 65.5% | 44.9% |
| Temple Hill Elementary School Glasgow | 266 | 60.5% | 44.0% |
| Gamaliel Elementary Gamaliel | 254 | 69.7% | 60.1% |
| Grandview Elementary School Bellevue | 251 | 60.6% | 38.3% |
| Northern Elementary School Somerset | 352 | 65.9% | 67.6% |
Matched among Kentucky 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 Southern Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky | In Ohio County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.4% | #126 of 669 | #2 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.0% | #168 of 668 | #3 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.5% | #188 of 674 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 269 | #610 of 744 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #339 of 674 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.0% | #418 of 674 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.7% | #394 of 721 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.1% | #181 of 437 | #3 of 6 |
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
269
-28 (-9%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 234
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 14.8:1
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 | 269 | 18.2 | 14.8:1 | 65% (174) |
| 2023-24 | 278 | 20.2 | 13.8:1 | 64% (178) |
| 2022-23 | 286 | 20.2 | 14.2:1 | 60% (172) |
| 2020-21 | 297 | 20 | 14.8:1 | 63% (188) |
| 2017-18 | 317 | 18.7 | 16.9:1 | 62% (198) |
| 2015-16 | 325 | 17 | 19.1:1 | 59% (193) |
| 2010-11 | 246 | 15 | 16.4:1 | 67% (165) |
| 2000-01 | 214 | 11 | 19.4:1 | 69% (148) |
| 1990-91 | 234 | 12 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (317 to 269); teachers down 3% (18.7 to 18.2).
About Southern Elementary School
Southern Elementary School is a small elementary school with its address in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. A total of 269 students attend the school, which covers pre-K through 6. Against the 421-student average for elementary schools in Kentucky, enrollment here is 36% lower.
The 10 schools of Ohio County, including Southern Elementary School, enroll 3,726 students.
At Southern Elementary School, White students make up 87% of the student body. The school is also 12% Hispanic. Southern Elementary School has a diversity index of 23%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reports 18.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 14.8 students per teacher. Across elementary schools in Kentucky, the average ratio is about 15.4:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 65% of students. That is close to the 65% average for public schools in Ohio County.
The allk12 Grade for Southern Elementary School is A-. Compared with Kentucky public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 83% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Southern Elementary School would score about 41.0%. It scores 57.4%, a top-10% result among Kentucky schools on BeatsExpectations.
In the county around the school, Ohio County, median household income is about $57,798, roughly 14% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Southern Elementary School is among the 11 public schools in Ohio County.
Beaver Dam Elementary School is the closest public school, about 5.5 miles away in a straight line. There are 7 more public schools inside ten miles. By average proficiency, Southern Elementary School is 1st among 7 schools close by.
Federal records code the school's setting as Rural: Distant.
The student count in 2024-25 was 269, 9% below the 297 of 2020-21.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Ohio County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
23,735
Census ACS
Median income
$57,798
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
14%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
3,726 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ohio County
- Ohio County High SchoolHigh · 1,018 students
- Wayland Alexander Elementary SchoolElementary · 635 students
- Beaver Dam Elementary SchoolElementary · 601 students
- Ohio County Middle SchoolMiddle · 523 students
- Fordsville Elementary SchoolElementary · 245 students
- Western Elementary SchoolElementary · 221 students
Other Southern Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 6 states are named Southern Elementary. Southern Elementary School is the 8th largest of the 10.
- Southern Elementary SchoolSomerset, KY · 611 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolFalmouth, KY · 542 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolLexington, KY · 476 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolGeorgetown, KY · 462 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolNew Castle, DE · 729 students
Nearby schools
- Beaver Dam Elementary School5.5 mi · 601
- Ohio County Middle School6.4 mi · 523
- Ohio County High School6.6 mi · 1,018
- Ohio County Alternative Learning Program8.1 mi · 21
- Ohio County Day Treatment8.1 mi · 25
- Wayland Alexander Elementary School8.2 mi · 635
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Elementary SchoolHow large is Southern Elementary School?
Southern Elementary School enrolls approximately 269 students in grades PK-06.
What grades does Southern Elementary School serve?
Southern Elementary School serves grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southern Elementary School is approximately 14.8:1 (18 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southern Elementary School?
At Southern Elementary School, the student body is approximately 87% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Is Southern Elementary School public or private?
Southern Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ohio County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.