Summary
In Derby, Kansas, Tanglewood Elementary serves 607 students in prekindergarten through grade 5 and is part of the Derby district. In 2025–26, students’ proficiency rates were 60% in English language arts (ELA), 57% in math, and 53% in science. Each result was above both district and Kansas averages. The most important takeaway is that Tanglewood is performing strongly across all three tested subjects compared with its district and the state.
Math is Tanglewood’s strongest subject against nearby schools, while science is its least strong by comparison. Among eight nearby schools with the same grade span and available scores, Tanglewood’s results averaged 19 percentage points higher in math, 14 points higher in ELA, and 11 points higher in science; it ranked second or tied second in ELA and math, and fourth in science. Fourth grade is a particular bright spot: its ELA and math rates were 64% and 62%, both the school’s highest listed, and it ranked second in each among same-grade nearby schools, behind Park Hill Elementary. Fifth-grade results were more mixed: Tanglewood had the highest nearby fifth-grade math rate, but ranked fourth in ELA and science.
Math has made the biggest sustained improvement: its proficiency rate rose 19 percentage points from 2022–23 to 2025–26, and its advantage over Kansas widened from 7 points to 16. ELA rose 14 points overall, while science rose 11 but fluctuated more. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking climbed 19 percentile points over the same period, reaching the 76th percentile and 4 stars in 2025–26; only Park Hill Elementary ranked higher among nearby schools with published results, while Stone Creek Elementary tied. SchoolDigger’s ranking for Hispanic students reached the 97th percentile in 2024–25, while its ranking for Special Education Students fell from the 93rd percentile in 2023–24 to the 48th in 2025–26, compared with the school’s overall 76th percentile that year; these are rankings of how well the school serves groups, not rankings of individual students. Tanglewood also has the area’s highest student-teacher ratio, 25.1, but the lowest chronic absenteeism, 9%, and lowest free/reduced-lunch rate, 24%—contextual differences that do not explain the school’s results.
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