Best Public Schools in Meriden, KS

Meriden, Kansas, has three public schools in the Jefferson West district, serving kindergarten through grade 12: Jefferson West Elementary School (K–4), Jefferson West Middle (grades 5–8), and Jefferson West High (grades 9–12). Overall, the schools’ unweighted average proficiency was 52% in ELA and 50% in math in 2025–26, compared with state results of 46% and 41%. The clearest shared strength is math: all three schools were above the state, and their average was 9 percentage points higher.

Jefferson West Elementary School had the strongest all-grades ELA and math results, at 59% and 55%—13 and 14 points above the state, respectively. Its results also exceeded the next-highest school’s by 8 points in ELA and 1 point in math. Jefferson West Middle led in reported science, with 47% proficiency, 9 points above the state and 6 above High. Jefferson West High had the lowest current all-grades results: 45% in ELA, 42% in math, and 42% in science; its ELA was 1 point below state, while math was 1 point above. All-grades comparisons span different grade ranges, and science results were supplied for only Middle and High.

High’s results improved most from the prior year: ELA rose 7 points and math 9 points, while Elementary fell 3 points in ELA and 1 in math; Middle’s ELA was nearly flat and its math rose 2 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentiles show High rising from 67 in 2023–24 to 77 in 2025–26, Middle edging up from 75 to 77, and Elementary declining from 89 to 74. These contrasts may help families weigh different strengths: Elementary had the strongest current ELA and math results but the highest student-teacher ratio, 16.0, while High had the lowest ratio, 12.1, alongside its weaker current results. High also had the highest chronic absenteeism rate, 13%, though that remained below the state’s 18%.