Best Public Schools in Smith Center, KS

The city of Smith Center, Kansas, is home to two standout schools - Smith Center Elementary and Smith Center Junior Senior High. Both schools have earned impressive rankings, with Smith Center Elementary ranked in the top 145 out of 656 Kansas elementary schools and Smith Center Junior Senior High ranked in the top 53 out of 332 Kansas high schools in the 2024-2025 school year.

Smith Center Elementary has seen a steady improvement in its statewide ranking, moving from 249th out of 660 Kansas elementary schools in 2022-2023 to 145th out of 656 in 2024-2025. The school significantly outperforms the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels, with proficiency rates ranging from 55% to 72.72% in ELA and 39.39% to 62.5% in Math, compared to the state averages of 41.55% to 51.85% in ELA and 39.3% to 41.81% in Math. However, the school faces a relatively high chronic absenteeism rate of 19.5% in 2024-2025.

Similarly, Smith Center Junior Senior High has maintained a strong ranking, placing 53rd out of 332 Kansas high schools in 2024-2025. The school outperforms the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency across most grade levels, with proficiency rates ranging from 46.14% to 69.22% in ELA and 38.45% to 59.99% in Math, compared to the state averages of 37.93% to 41.93% in ELA and 33.59% to 37.57% in Math. Additionally, the school boasts a strong 89.5% four-year graduation rate and a low 1.3% dropout rate, despite also facing a 19.5% chronic absenteeism rate in 2024-2025.