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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MADISON COUNTY·NCES 210372000951

Waco Elementary School

359 Waco Loop, Waco, KY 40385 · (859) 387-3600 · Madison County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL422 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Kentucky public elementary schools
  • C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • CBeats 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

Enrollment
422
Elementary
DISTRICT 475 · STATE 421
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 15.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
229 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 63%
Community
5
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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K123%
Kindergarten6315%
Grade 16616%
Grade 27317%
Grade 37317%
Grade 47518%
Grade 56014%

This year's kindergarten class (63) is 5% larger than its 5th grade class (60).

Student demographics
24%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 47% · US 70%
White
36687%
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 71% · US 43%
Hispanic
235%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 10% · US 30%
Black
82%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 11% · US 15%
Asian
31%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 2% · US 6%
Two+
215%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
21150%
Female
21150%

Discussions

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Test scores

KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/Distinguished
English Language Arts
43.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
41.7%
KY avg 42.8%

What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 43 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 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
40.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.9%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.5pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% typical for Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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 Waco Elementary School

Waco Elementary School's state test result (40.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Waco Elementary School this school42254.3%40.4%
Southside Elementary School
Cynthiana
40955.5%40.7%
Chandlers Elementary School
Russellville
45455.5%33.7%
CORBIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Corbin
38456.0%70.3%
Emma B. Ward Elementary School
Lawrenceburg
45253.1%45.8%
Southwest Calloway Elementary School
Murray
39951.9%66.8%
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 Waco Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn KentuckyIn Madison County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
40.4%#409 of 669#11 of 11
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
41.7%#379 of 668#7 of 11
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
43.0%#461 of 674#11 of 11
Enrollment
ranked largest first
422#390 of 744#9 of 12
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
14.4:1#271 of 674#5 of 12
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
24.2%#402 of 674#8 of 12
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
54.3%#555 of 721#10 of 12
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-10.8%#242 of 437#5 of 8
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 2024-25
Enrollment
422
-38 (-8%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 491
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 15.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2542229.314.4:154% (229)
2023-2442228.814.6:159% (248)
2022-2342830.813.9:157% (244)
2020-214602915.9:158% (269)
2017-1847332.814.4:159% (279)
2015-164863016.2:163% (307)
2010-114882916.8:159% (290)
2000-014471923.5:156% (249)
1990-914912817.5:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Waco Elementary School.

Since 2017-18: students down 11% (473 to 422); teachers down 11% (32.8 to 29.3).

About Waco Elementary School

Waco Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school for students in Waco, Kentucky. Students in pre-K through 5 attend, and enrollment is 422 students.

The district, Madison County, has 11,132 students enrolled across 20 schools.

The large majority of students at Waco Elementary School, 87%, are White. Next come 5% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. County-wide, about 89% of residents are White. Waco Elementary School has a diversity index of 24%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.

Teacher staffing is 29.3 full-time equivalents, or about 14.4 students per teacher. The 15.4:1 average for elementary schools in Kentucky is higher than this school's figure. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 54%. That is close to the 55% average for public schools in Madison County.

allk12 grades Waco Elementary School a C. The grade compares the school only with Kentucky public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.

Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Waco Elementary School would be expected to post about 44.9%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 40.4%.

Madison County has about 95,769 residents, and median household income is about $63,351, about 34% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 27 public schools in Madison County, with a combined enrollment of about 12,103.

Clark Moores Middle School is the public school closest to Waco Elementary School, about 7.5 miles away. Waco Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within ten miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Waco Elementary School at 5th of 8.

The federal government classifies Waco Elementary School's location as Rural: Distant.

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 460 to 422. Students per teacher fell from 15.9 in 2020-21 to 14.4 in 2024-25.

The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Waco Elementary School covering things like enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.

Madison County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
95,769
Census ACS
Median income
$63,351
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
27
12,103 students

Quick facts

School name
Waco Elementary School
District
Madison County
Address
359 Waco Loop, Waco, KY 40385
Phone
(859) 387-3600
County
Madison County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
422
Teachers (FTE)
29
Student–teacher ratio
14.4:1
Free and reduced lunch
229 (54%)
Locale
42-Rural: Distant
NCES ID
210372000951
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Madison County
Other Waco Elementary schools

One other US public school is named Waco Elementary. Waco Elementary School is the largest of the 2.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Waco Elementary School
What is the total enrollment at Waco Elementary School?
Waco Elementary School enrolls approximately 422 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Waco Elementary School serve?
Waco Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Waco Elementary School?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at Waco Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Waco Elementary School?
At Waco Elementary School, the student body is approximately 87% White, 5% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Waco Elementary School public or private?
Waco Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Madison County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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