Best Public Schools in Burden, KS

Burden has two schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12: Central Elementary (PK–6, 162 students) and Central Junior-Senior High (grades 7–12, 139 students), with 301 students combined. Their results vary by subject and school, so an area-wide average can hide important differences. The clearest area-wide concern is math: the two-school average fell 8 percentage points, from 45% to 37%, while the state result rose 2 points, from 39% to 41%.

In 2025–26 science, Central Elementary stands out at 59%, compared with 31% at the high school—a 28-point gap; the elementary result is 21 points above the 38% state result, while the high school is 7 points below. For ELA, the high school leads at 49%, 6 points above the elementary school’s 43%, and is 3 points above the state; the elementary result is 3 points below state. Math results are nearly even—37% at the elementary school and 37% at the high school, a 1-point difference—and both are about 4 points below state.

Recent changes show different patterns by school: elementary science rose 7 points while high-school science fell 17; high-school ELA rose 5 points as elementary ELA fell 3. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile for the high school declined from 78th in 2023–24 to 54th in 2025–26, though it earned 3 stars in the latest ranking; the elementary school’s percentile fluctuated from 40th to 52nd to 41st, and it earned 2 stars. Other indicators are positive context: graduation at the high school was 100%, compared with 90% statewide, and chronic absenteeism was below state rates at both schools. Reported lunch rates are similar—50% at the elementary school and 49% at the high school—while student-teacher ratios differ, at 17 and 8.2, respectively; these figures do not explain the test results.