Best Public Schools in Copeland, KS

Copeland has two schools serving preschool through eighth grade: Copeland Elementary (PK–5, 51 students) and South Gray Junior High (grades 6–8, 21 students); no high school is listed. In 2024–25, both schools were above the state in all-grades ELA, but their math results went in opposite directions. The most important difference is math: Copeland Elementary scored 50%, while South Gray scored 31%—a 19-point gap, with one school above and the other below the state.

Copeland Elementary was the stronger school in the 2024–25 all-grades results: it scored 57% in ELA and 50% in math, compared with South Gray’s 46% and 31%. In science, the schools were closer—40% at Copeland and 38% at South Gray—and both were below the state result of 41%. South Gray’s latest results add a notable bright spot: in 2025–26, it scored 65% in science, 27 points above the state, as well as 48% in ELA, 2 points above the state. Its grade results vary sharply: eighth graders were above state results in ELA and math, while seventh graders scored 22% in ELA and 0% in math. Copeland fifth graders also stood out, scoring 80% in both ELA and math.

South Gray improved in all three subjects relative to the state between 2024–25 and 2025–26, with science showing the biggest change: its score rose from 38% to 65%, while the state score fell from 41% to 38%. SchoolDigger ranked Copeland Elementary 123rd of 656 elementary schools, in the 81st percentile with four stars, in 2024–25; it ranked South Gray 141st of 368 middle schools, in the 62nd percentile with three stars, in 2025–26. The rankings use different years and school-type groups. South Gray had a lower student–teacher ratio than Copeland (4.8 versus 8.1) and a higher free/reduced-lunch rate (62% versus 41%); these are context, not explanations for scores. Both schools’ 2025–26 absenteeism rates were below the state’s 18%. Test results for 2025–26 are available only for South Gray, and the schools serve different grades.