Best Public Schools in Otis, KS

Otis, Kansas, has three schools in the Otis-Bison district: Otis-Bison Elementary (prekindergarten–grade 5), Otis-Bison Junior/Senior High School (grades 6–12), and Otis Bison Academy (grades 7–12). The most serious concern in the figures is the Academy’s reported 23% graduation rate in 2023–24, compared with 100% at the Junior/Senior High, alongside an 12% dropout rate in 2024–25 versus 1% statewide.

Among the two schools with 2025–26 proficiency results, Elementary leads in ELA and math: 51% versus 40% in ELA, an 11-point gap, and 57% versus 45% in math, a 12-point gap. Its science result is essentially tied with the Junior/Senior High’s, at 50% in each school. Elementary is above the state in all three subjects; the Junior/Senior High is above the state in math and science but below it in ELA (40% versus 46%). The Academy has no reported proficiency scores, so it cannot be compared on tests.

Recent results show a marked math improvement: the two scored schools’ average rose from 38% in 2024–25 to 51% in 2025–26, while the state rate rose from 39% to 41%. ELA moved the other way, with the schools’ average falling from 52% to 46%; Elementary dropped 13 points, while the Junior/Senior High rose 1 point. Grade results also vary: 7th-grade math was 71% versus 38% statewide, but 8th-grade math was 33% versus 40%; 3rd-grade ELA was 67% versus 52%, while 5th-grade ELA was 40% versus 51%. SchoolDigger’s percentile rank rose from 42 to 65 for Elementary across its listed years, while the Junior/Senior High’s fell from 76 to 45. The larger schools have similar reported student-teacher ratios (6.8 and 7.2) and free/reduced-lunch rates (44% and 46%); chronic absenteeism was 9% at Elementary, 25% at the Junior/Senior High, and 0% at the Academy.