Best Public Schools in Liberal, KS

Summary:

The city of Liberal, Kansas is home to 8 schools, including 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school. These schools serve a predominantly low-income student population, with high rates of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch across the district.

Among the standout schools, MacArthur Elementary School and Prairie View Elementary School have the highest performance on English Language Arts and Math proficiency tests, significantly outpacing the district and state averages. In contrast, other schools like Meadowlark Elementary and Seymour Rogers Middle School struggle with lower proficiency rates and declining state rankings.

Across the district, the schools face significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, wide performance gaps between the top and lower-performing schools, and potential resource inequities as evidenced by the wide range in per-student spending. Addressing these systemic issues will be crucial for improving educational outcomes and ensuring equitable opportunities for all students in the Liberal school district.

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 6th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	KAP English Language Arts 10th Grade	KAP English Language Arts All Grades	KAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	KAP Mathematics 4th Grade	KAP Mathematics 5th Grade	KAP Mathematics 6th Grade	KAP Mathematics 7th Grade	KAP Mathematics 8th Grade	KAP Mathematics 10th Grade	KAP Mathematics All Grades	KAP Science 5th Grade	KAP Science 8th 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
Liberal Senior High	Public	9-12	1611 W 2nd	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-1200	1,421	91	15.5	86.3%	121 (8.5%)	14 (1.0%)	1,232 (86.7%)	20 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (2.3%)	11.2	309^th of 332 public high schools	6.9%		7.1	306^th of 318 public high schools	3.8%	3							22.0	22.0							12.3	12.3				$12,194	$1,148	$11,046
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
Eisenhower Middle School	Public	6-8	2000 N Western	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-1400	516	40	13.0	81.6%	72 (14.0%)	4 (0.8%)	424 (82.2%)	7 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.6%)	10.8	341^st of 363 public middle schools	6.1%		14.7	333^rd of 362 public middle schools	8.0%	8				19.4	27.1	19.1		22.2				20.5	16.5	11.9		16.3		17.5	17.5	$13,621	$741	$12,880
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
Seymour Rogers Middle School	Public	6-8	721 Griffith	Liberal	67901	Seward County	Liberal	No	No	No	Yes	(620) 604-1300	472	41	11.5	90.7%	32 (6.8%)	5 (1.1%)	431 (91.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	5.9	352^nd of 363 public middle schools	3.0%		7.3	356^th of 362 public middle schools	1.7%	4				18.3	12.1	13.6		14.5				21.0	8.2	9.6		12.5		10.3	10.3	$13,761	$1,091	$12,670
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.