Herington Middle School

Herington Middle School serves 87 students in grades 6–8 in Herington, Kansas; there are no other schools within 20 miles. In 2025–26, the school’s SchoolDigger ranking was at the 14th percentile statewide, with 1 star. The main concern is that its proficiency rates were below both state and district levels in all three subjects, with ELA furthest behind the state: 26% proficient, compared with 46% statewide.

There are no nearby schools to compare directly, but the school trails both the Herington district and Kansas in every reported subject. Math is its strongest subject compared with the district: 29% proficient, 6 points below the district’s 35%. Science is closest to the state rate, at 29% compared with 38%, a 10-point gap; it is 7 points below the district. ELA is the clearest weakness relative to both: its 26% rate is 9 points below the district’s 35% and 20 points below the state. Chronic absenteeism is also elevated compared with Kansas: 29% at the school versus 18% statewide, though it is 2 points below the district’s 31%.

Results have improved most in math, but the gains have not closed all the gaps. Since 2022–23, math proficiency has risen 16 points and science 10 points, while ELA has increased just 1 point; ELA’s gap with the state widened from 9 to 20 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile fell from 30 to 14 over that period, despite gains in all three subjects; the school had 1 star in both years. Its student-teacher ratio was 12.9 in 2024–25, and 69% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch—context about the school, not an explanation for its results. SchoolDigger’s measure of how well the school serves students with special education needs dropped from the 78th percentile in 2021–22 to the 35th in 2022–23; its measure for students with low socioeconomic status fell from the 40th percentile in 2024–25 to the 19th in 2025–26.