Summary:
Seven schools serve Valley Center in ZIP code 67147, from elementary grades through high school, including a small alternative school. Results vary widely: in third grade, Wheatland Elementary scores well above the state in both subjects, while West Elementary is below it; the two schools’ math results differ by 30 percentage points. The most important takeaway is that area-wide averages hide major differences between schools and grade levels.
Wheatland Elementary leads all-grades results in ELA at 68% and math at 63%, about 22 points above state results in each subject. Among schools with reported science scores, Valley Center Intermediate School leads at 41%, 3 points above the state. At the other end, The Learning Center has the lowest reported all-grades results: 15% in ELA, 11% in math and 15% in science—31, 30 and 23 points below state results, respectively. High school indicators are mixed: Valley Center High has chronic absenteeism of 31%, 13 points above the state, but a graduation rate of 94%, compared with 90% statewide.
Recent test-score trends are mixed, even as the average gap from the state narrowed. Across the same seven schools, average ELA results fell from 59% to 48% between 2024–25 and 2025–26, while the state rose from 44% to 46%; the schools’ average advantage narrowed from 15 points to 2. Math averages fell from 46% to 41%, while the state rose from 39% to 41%, narrowing the schools’ advantage from 7 points to about 0. Wheatland Elementary improved in both subjects, while West Elementary and Abilene Elementary had sizable declines. SchoolDigger rates the Valley Center Pub School district at 2 stars, ranked 182nd of 268 Kansas districts. Context measures also vary: reported student-teacher ratios range from 11.3 to 15.1, and free/reduced-lunch rates from 4% at The Learning Center to 53% at West Elementary; these figures describe differences among schools but don’t explain their results.
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