Summary:
Effingham, Kansas, has two schools serving 498 students: Atchison County Community Elementary School (prekindergarten–grade 6) and Atchison County Community Junior/Senior High (grades 7–12). The clearest difference in the latest results is that the elementary school scored above the state in all three subjects, while the junior/senior high scored below it in all three.
Atchison County Community Elementary stands out at the top of the local comparison: its 2025–26 proficiency was 49% in English language arts (ELA), 42% in math and 51% in science, compared with 39%, 26% and 32% at the junior/senior high. The schools’ gaps were 10 points in ELA, 17 in math and 19 in science. The elementary school also exceeded state results by 3 points in ELA, 1 in math and 13 in science. The junior/senior high was below state results by 6 points in ELA, 15 in math and 6 in science. Grade-level results show some exceptions: junior/senior high grade 10 math was 8 points above the state, while grades 7 and 8 were 23 and 20 points below.
Recent trends differ between the schools. From 2024–25 to 2025–26, elementary math rose 11 points and ELA rose 2, while science fell 10; at the junior/senior high, math fell 11 points and science fell 28, while ELA was essentially unchanged. SchoolDigger’s latest statewide rankings put the elementary school at the 50th percentile and the junior/senior high at the 51st, despite their different proficiency results. Other measures add context: the elementary school’s student-teacher ratio was 11.5 versus 9.6 at the junior/senior high, and its free/reduced-lunch rate was 48% versus 42%. The junior/senior high had a 96% graduation rate, but chronic absenteeism was 26%, compared with 10% at the elementary school. These figures describe different aspects of each school and do not explain why test results differ.
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