Clays Mill Elementary School

Clays Mill Elementary School serves 527 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Lexington, in Fayette County. It has a 13.5:1 student-teacher ratio and a strong record of test performance, with grade 4 math and reading lower than the school’s results in grades 3 and 5. The most important finding is that in 2025–2026, Clays Mill’s average proficiency was higher than both district and state averages in all six tested subjects, and higher than nearby-school averages in every subject.

Clays Mill stands out most in writing: 75% of fifth graders were proficient, compared with a nearby-school average of 43%; the school’s average writing result was also 40 percentage points above the state average. Social studies was another strength, at 77% proficient versus a nearby average of 46%. Mathematics was its smallest lead over nearby schools, though Clays Mill still averaged 71% proficient, compared with 55% nearby, 50% in the district, and 43% statewide. Within the school, grade 4 math was 63%, below grade 3’s 80% and grade 5’s 70%; grade 4 reading was 66%, also below grades 3 and 5. Both grade 4 results were still above nearby averages.

Results have improved overall since 2022–2023: average proficiency rose 11 percentage points in math, 10 in writing, and 20 in editing and mechanics, while social studies fell 2 points. Clays Mill ranks first among the 10 nearby schools in SchoolDigger’s latest results, at 9th of 684 Kentucky schools, in the 99th percentile with 5 stars. One notable difference in SchoolDigger’s subgroup rankings is that its statewide percentile for Special Education Students is 79, below its overall 99th percentile. The school’s chronic absenteeism was 10% in 2025–2026, compared with 25% in Fayette County and 24% statewide. As context, 27% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, the second-lowest rate among nearby schools with that measure and year; this is an observation, not an explanation for the school’s results.