Summary:
ZIP code 67601 has six schools in the Hays area: three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and one alternative school. In 2025–26, their simple average proficiency was 50% in ELA, 42% in math and 41% in science, compared with state averages of 46%, 41% and 38%. Those averages conceal large differences from one school to another. The central takeaway is that Kathryn O’Loughlin McCarthy Elementary is the clearest all-subject academic standout.
McCarthy had the highest results in all three subjects: 76% in ELA, 71% in math and 61% in science—about 30, 30 and 23 points above state results. Hays Middle School also beat the state in every subject, with 50% in ELA, 50% in math and 44% in science. Woodrow Wilson Elementary was strong in ELA and math at 66% and 58%, but its 34% in science was below the state’s 38%. At the lower end, Hays Virtual School had the lowest ELA and math results, at 15% and 0%; its 36% in science was closer to the state. Hays High had the lowest science result, 29%.
Recent changes vary by school, even as the six-school averages moved down in ELA and math: ELA fell 6 points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, and math fell 3 points. Hays Middle and McCarthy bucked the math trend, rising 11 and 10 points, while Virtual fell 18 points in math and 32 in ELA. SchoolDigger ranks McCarthy in the 96th percentile and Hays Middle in the 77th; the middle school rose 14 percentile points since 2023–24, while Hays High fell 35. Hays High presents a mixed picture: its graduation rate was 98% versus 90% statewide, but chronic absenteeism was 36% versus 18% statewide. The elementary schools have similar student–teacher ratios, from 14.1 to 14.7, and reported free/reduced-lunch rates from 38% to 41%; these are useful context, not explanations for differences in results.
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