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Best Elementary Schools in Liberal, KS

At a glance

Schools

2,244

Students

Top rankedMacArthur Elementary School551^st of 656 Kansas elementary schools

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Smallest classes

MacArthur Elementary School 13.3 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

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Summary:

The city of Liberal, Kansas is home to 5 elementary schools serving students from kindergarten through 5th grade. While the schools generally struggle to meet state academic standards, MacArthur Elementary School stands out as the highest-performing, with consistently stronger test scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics compared to the district and state averages.

Prairie View Elementary School also performs relatively well, particularly in 3rd and 4th grade English Language Arts, and has a lower student-teacher ratio than the other schools. However, the majority of the elementary schools in Liberal face significant challenges, with low proficiency rates in both English and Math, high chronic absenteeism, and a large percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Addressing these systemic issues, such as improving attendance and providing additional support for students from low-income families, will be crucial for the Liberal school district to raise academic achievement across all its elementary schools. The success of MacArthur Elementary suggests that there may be opportunities to learn from its effective practices and implement them district-wide.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				KAP English Language Arts (2025)				KAP Mathematics (2025)				KAP Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	KAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	KAP English Language Arts All Grades	KAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	KAP Mathematics 4th Grade	KAP Mathematics 5th Grade	KAP Mathematics All Grades	KAP Science 5th Grade	KAP Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
MacArthur Elementary School	Public	K-5	925 South Holly	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-1700	386	29	13.3	80.1%	60 (15.5%)	6 (1.6%)	303 (78.5%)	8 (2.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.8%)	19.9	551^st of 656 public elementary schools	16.0%		20.7	542^nd of 653 public elementary schools	17.0%	9	37.5	32.8	33.3	34.4	35.7	21.9	25.0	27.2	18.3	18.3	$13,901	$1,954	$11,948
Cottonwood Elementary School	Public	K-5	1100 W. 11th	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-2700	500	34	14.9	89.2%	41 (8.2%)	4 (0.8%)	439 (87.8%)	7 (1.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	9.9	612^th of 656 public elementary schools	6.7%		12.5	591^st of 653 public elementary schools	9.5%	21	23.1	29.7	20.9	24.2	10.8	18.7	20.9	16.6	22.0	22.0	$13,206	$1,388	$11,818
Sunflower Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	310 W. Pine	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-2800	570	25	23.2	87.2%	45 (7.9%)	8 (1.4%)	499 (87.5%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.9%)	14.7	582^nd of 656 public elementary schools	11.3%		18.2	561^st of 653 public elementary schools	14.1%	21	38.9	17.6	27.9	28.4	21.4	25.5	18.2	21.8	27.3	27.3	$12,276	$1,237	$11,039
Prairie View Elementary School	Public	K-5	615 Warren Avenue	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-1800	426	32	13.3	88.3%	23 (5.4%)	4 (0.9%)	393 (92.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.4%)	8.3	619^th of 656 public elementary schools	5.6%		20.2	548^th of 653 public elementary schools	16.1%	71	29.8	28.3	17.6	24.9	13.4	13.3	13.5	13.4	18.9	18.9	$14,175	$1,310	$12,866
Meadowlark Elementary School	Public	K-5	1200 N Calvert	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-2100	362	27	13.4	97.5%	16 (4.4%)	7 (1.9%)	329 (90.9%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.7%)	3.4	654^th of 656 public elementary schools	0.3%		5.8	646^th of 653 public elementary schools	1.1%	8	13.6	12.7	15.8	14.0	10.0	7.1	7.1	8.2	10.5	10.5	$14,124	$1,536	$12,588

Cities Near Liberal

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Kismet	16.88 mi	2	327^th
Plains	24.01 mi	1	308^th
Moscow	24.56 mi	2	180^th
Hugoton	24.7 mi	4	227^th
Satanta	27.4 mi	2	313^th

See the top KS Kansas cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kansas State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.