Best Public Schools in Towanda, KS

Towanda has two listed schools: Circle Towanda Elementary serves prekindergarten through grade 6 and has 278 students, while Circle High serves grades 9–12 and has 604 students. In 2025–26, the schools’ simple average was 38% proficient in English language arts (ELA) and 30% in math, compared with state figures of 46% and 41%. The clearest area-wide concern is that both schools’ ELA and math results fell from the prior year as the state figures rose, widening the gaps in both subjects.

Neither school leads in every subject: Towanda Elementary had higher All Grades ELA and science results, while Circle High led in math. Elementary scored 43% in ELA versus High’s 33%, a 10-point difference; in science, the figures were 43% and 28%, a 14-point gap. High scored 34% in math versus Elementary’s 26%, an 8-point difference. Elementary’s grade-by-grade math results were all below state figures, by 12 to 20 points, while its ELA results varied: fourth and sixth grade were above state figures, but third and fifth were below. High’s results were below state figures in all three supplied grade-matched subjects. Because the schools serve different grades, their All Grades results are not direct like-for-like comparisons.

The year-to-year declines were especially sharp at High in ELA, down 16 percentage points; Elementary’s ELA fell 1 point. Math fell 9 points at High and 3 at Elementary, while state math rose 2 points. SchoolDigger ranks High 218th of 340 schools, at the 36th percentile with 2 stars; Elementary ranks 488th of 657, at the 26th percentile with 1 star, though these rankings use different school groups. High’s percentile ranking rose to 78 in 2024–25 before falling to 36; Elementary’s student-teacher ratio is 11.3 versus High’s 15.7. Reported free/reduced-lunch rates are 51% at Elementary and 30% at High, and chronic absenteeism is 14% and 19%, respectively, compared with 18% statewide.