Payne Elementary

Payne Elementary is a public elementary school in Wichita, Kansas, serving 258 students in grades PK-5. The school has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in the state, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Payne Elementary's academic performance is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 6.52% of Payne students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 33.55% statewide and 19.95% in the Wichita district. The school's performance is particularly low in mathematics, with proficiency rates ranging from 2.85% to 5.88% across grade levels, compared to the state average of 31.6% to 50.23%. Payne Elementary also has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds (95.35%) and English Language Learners, which may contribute to its academic challenges.

Interestingly, the nearby Riverside Leadership Magnet Elementary, Cleaveland Traditional Magnet Elementary, and Enders STEM and Leadership Magnet schools generally perform significantly better than Payne Elementary across all academic measures, with proficiency rates that are 2-3 times higher in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. The higher-performing schools tend to have lower percentages of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and ELL students, suggesting that student demographics may be a significant factor in the academic performance of these schools.