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Whitley City Elementary School

Q: Is Whitley City Elementary School a good school?

Whitley City Elementary School ranks 139 th of 685 Kentucky elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

139^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 685 Kentucky Elementary Schools

Better than 80% of Kentucky elementary schools

Summary

Whitley City Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 561 students in grades PK-5 in Whitley City, Kentucky, which is part of the McCreary County School District. The school has shown strong academic performance in recent years, particularly in supporting its special education and economically disadvantaged student populations.

In 2024-2025, Whitley City Elementary ranked 139 out of 685 Kentucky elementary schools, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. This represents a significant improvement from previous years. The school has excelled in supporting its special education and low-income students, ranking 3rd out of 306 Kentucky elementary schools for special education students and 62nd out of 672 for low socioeconomic status students, both earning 5-star ratings. However, the school still faces the challenge of high chronic absenteeism rates, with a 25% rate in 2024-2025.

Whitley City Elementary consistently outperforms the McCreary County School District and the state of Kentucky in academic proficiency across various subjects and grade levels. When compared to nearby schools in the same district and other districts, the school generally performs on par or better in terms of academic proficiency and school rankings. This strong performance is particularly impressive given that the school serves a high-poverty student population, with over 80% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

547

Students ?

15.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,492

Per pupil spending ?

85.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2819 N Hwy 27
Whitley City, KY 42653

(606) 376-2690

District: McCreary County

Students who attend Whitley City Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	McCreary County Middle School
High:	McCreary Central High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

96.5%

Hispanic:

1.3%

Two or more races:

1.3%

See top rated Kentucky elementary schools

Compare Whitley City Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 18th percentile in 2014 → 80th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Kentucky average (56% vs 44% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 20% of Kentucky elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 62 percentile points since 2014

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 25% Kentucky)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school56%

District avg56%

Kentucky avg44%

139^th of 685

Kentucky public elementary schools ?

Top 20%▲ up 62 pts since 2015

From bottom 18% (2015) to top 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Kentucky Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Elementary Schools in the McCreary County

79^th of 157McCreary County among Kentucky districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	74.5	139 of 685	79.7%	★★★★☆
2024	61.0	245 of 685	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	57.0	268 of 687	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	26.4	513 of 684	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.3	453 of 700	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.6	534 of 691	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	34.7	501 of 694	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	35.9	498 of 690	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	26.1	571 of 698	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	25.9	578 of 705	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	37.7	504 of 719	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	42.9	424 of 713	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2011	77.0	125 of 688	81.8%	★★★★☆
2010	73.0	153 of 683	77.6%	★★★★☆
2009	56.3	301 of 658	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2008	65.6	219 of 651	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2007	62.7	227 of 638	64.4%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2019	86.3	46 of 474	90.3%	★★★★★
2018	74.8	67 of 445	84.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	68.9	162 of 648	75.0%	★★★★☆
2024	60.2	233 of 644	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.6	323 of 639	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.2	542 of 641	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.9	486 of 671	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.0	535 of 663	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	83.2	62 of 672	90.8%	★★★★★
2024	65.2	170 of 665	74.4%	★★★★☆
2023	65.1	161 of 670	76.0%	★★★★☆
2022	36.7	429 of 667	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	47.5	355 of 664	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.1	433 of 631	31.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	76.5	101 of 653	84.5%	★★★★☆
2024	56.0	257 of 652	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.3	221 of 652	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	29.8	476 of 657	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	49.1	363 of 676	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.7	489 of 665	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	99.0	3 of 306	99.0%	★★★★★
2024	72.0	58 of 279	79.2%	★★★★☆
2023	85.2	25 of 257	90.3%	★★★★★
2019	32.8	502 of 661	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2025	66.1	180 of 659	72.7%	★★★★☆
2024	53.5	284 of 659	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.5	319 of 658	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	20.5	556 of 656	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2025)99th percentile+19 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)91st percentile+11 vs school

Disabled (2019)90th percentile+55 vs school

Male (2025)85th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)75th percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)73rd percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Kentucky (2024-2025) ?

Editing and Mechanics67%+20 vs state

Reading62%+13 vs state

Mathematics56%+12 vs state

Writing47%+9 vs state

Social Studies46%+8 vs state

Science43%+6 vs state

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Schools Near Whitley City Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				KSA Mathematics (2025)				KSA Reading (2025)				KSA Science (2025)	KSA Writing (2025)	KSA Social Studies (2025)	KSA Editing and Mechanics (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Whitley City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2819 N Hwy 27	Whitley City	42653	McCreary County	McCreary County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 376-2690	547	36	15.1	85.2%	528 (96.5%)	2 (0.4%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.3%)	74.5	139^th of 685 public elementary schools	79.7%		61	245^th of 685 public elementary schools	64.2%	106	53.0	58.0	56.0		59.0	57.0	71.0		43.0	47.0	46.0	67.0	$16,492	$2,435	$1,191	$3,626	$9,345	$2,492	$9,890
Pine Knot Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	119 East Highway 2792	Pine Knot	42635	McCreary County	McCreary County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(606) 354-2161	425	29	14.6	86.6%	411 (96.7%)	2 (0.5%)	7 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)								(n/a)													$16,239	$2,264	$943	$3,236	$7,865	$2,310	$9,391
Pine Knot Intermediate	Public	3-5	6519 S Hwy 1651	Pine Knot	42635	McCreary County	McCreary County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 354-2511	352	27	13.0	86.1%	331 (94.0%)	2 (0.6%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.7%)	74.2	143^rd of 685 public elementary schools	79.1%		71.9	144^th of 685 public elementary schools	79.0%	1	40.0	56.0	61.0		57.0	56.0	66.0		49.0	65.0	44.0	67.0	$16,869	$2,727	$1,493	$4,220	$10,037	$2,166	$10,256
Burnside Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	435 East Lakeshore Drive	Burnside	42519	Pulaski County	Pulaski County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 561-4250	414	32	12.8	81.2%	380 (91.8%)	4 (1.0%)	16 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.4%)	89.6	45^th of 685 public elementary schools	93.4%		72.9	136^th of 685 public elementary schools	80.1%	91	63.0	63.0	65.0		56.0	65.0	76.0		56.0	73.0	73.0	82.0	$14,219	$1,327	$448	$1,774	$10,160	$2,279	$12,444
Whitley Central Intermediate School	Public	3-6	2940 North Highway 25W	Williamsburg	40769	Whitley County	Whitley County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 549-8011	456	30	15.2	71.3%	432 (94.7%)	2 (0.4%)	12 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	87	56^th of 685 public elementary schools	91.8%		85.5	64^th of 685 public elementary schools	90.7%	8	62.0	67.0	70.0	55.0	71.0	61.0	66.0	73.0	60.0	57.0	59.0	67.0	$14,937	$2,412	$994	$3,406	$9,137	$1,750	$10,887
Whitley County Central Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	520 Blvd of Champions	Williamsburg	40769	Whitley County	Whitley County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 549-7060	413	29	14.2	76.0%	391 (94.7%)	4 (1.0%)	9 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)								(n/a)													$18,850	$2,855	$911	$3,766	$11,627	$2,535	$14,162

Frequently Asked Questions about Whitley City Elementary School

How many students attend Whitley City Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 547 students attended Whitley City Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Whitley City Elementary School?

Students at Whitley City Elementary School are 97% White, 1% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

What district is Whitley City Elementary School in?

McCreary County

Is Whitley City Elementary School a good school?

Whitley City Elementary School ranks 139^th of 685 Kentucky elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Whitley City Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Whitley City Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : McCreary County Middle School
High : McCreary Central High School

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Schools in Whitley City, KY

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.