Summary
Great Bend High School serves 923 students in grades 9–12 in the Great Bend, Kansas, community. In 2025–26, its proficiency rates were 33% in English Language Arts (ELA), 24% in math and 26% in science—below both the state and Great Bend district in every subject. The clearest academic concern is math: results were 17 percentage points below the state and 10 points below the district.
Compared with nearby schools that have current test results, Great Bend ranked fourth of five in both ELA and math, and third in science. Science is a relative local strength, though its 26% proficiency rate remained below the state and district; ELA was closest to the nearby average, while math was furthest below it. For example, ELA averaged 38% across the nearby comparison group, versus 33% at Great Bend, while math averaged 33%, versus 24%. Attendance is another concern: chronic absenteeism was 34% in 2025–26, compared with 18% statewide and 21% districtwide, and was second-highest among the five nearby schools with reported figures.
ELA and math have improved since 2022–23, rising 14 and 11 percentage points, respectively, and their gaps with the state narrowed slightly. Science rose only 4 points, compared with a 7-point state gain, so its state gap widened from 9 to 13 points. SchoolDigger places the school at the 27th percentile statewide, with 1 star. Its 2024–25 student-teacher ratio was 13.5, higher than the nearby schools with reported ratios, and its free/reduced-lunch rate was 62%, compared with a 43% average at nearby schools with reported rates; these are contextual differences, not explanations of results. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for Hispanic students fell from the 70th percentile in 2023–24 to the 24th in 2025–26, while English Language Learner students ranked at the 10th percentile, down from the 29th the previous year. These rankings indicate comparatively low statewide standings in how well the school serves those groups.
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