Summary:
Butler, Kentucky, has two elementary schools, Northern Elementary School and Grant’s Lick Elementary School, and both serve students in prekindergarten through Grade 5. Their 2025–2026 results show meaningful differences between schools, especially in Grade 3. The clearest overall finding is that Grant’s Lick leads in 8 of the 10 subject-and-grade comparisons and is above the state result in 9.
Grant’s Lick is the academic standout: it scored 71% in Grade 3 math and 73% in Grade 3 reading, compared with 26% and 39% at Northern—gaps of 45 and 34 percentage points. Northern’s Grade 3 scores were also 17 points below the state in math and 10 points below in reading. Northern’s exceptions are Grade 5 writing, where it scored 43% to Grant’s Lick’s 40%, and editing and mechanics, 51% to 46%. Grant’s Lick’s narrower exceptions include Grade 5 editing and mechanics, 46% versus 48% statewide, and Grade 5 reading, 60% versus 64% for the district.
Across all 10 comparisons, the two-school average fell from 56% in 2024–2025 to 52% in 2025–2026, while the state average was about 44% in both years; the area’s lead narrowed from 12 to 8 points. Trends differed by school: Northern’s math average fell 12 points, while Grant’s Lick’s rose 1 point; Grant’s Lick science improved 16 points, but its writing fell 17. SchoolDigger rates Grant’s Lick at the 83rd statewide percentile and 4 stars, versus Northern’s 51st percentile and 3 stars. Northern has 501 students and a 15.9 student–teacher ratio; Grant’s Lick has 326 students and a 16.9 ratio. In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 59% at Northern and 45% at Grant’s Lick; these are contextual differences, not explanations for scores.
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