Summary:
Zip code 41274 has one listed school, W R Castle Memorial Elementary School, a PK–6 school with 390 students in Johnson County. Because it is the only school in the list, families cannot compare it with another local school here. The clearest strength in 2025–2026 was reading: the school averaged 64% proficiency across grades 3–6, compared with 51% statewide, a 13-point lead.
The school’s strongest results against the state were grade 4 science, at 61% versus 40% (+21 points), and grade 5 editing and mechanics, at 63% versus 48% (+15 points). Grade 5 writing was the clearest weakness: 29% were proficient, compared with 35% statewide and 39% in the district. Mathematics varied by grade: results were 4 points below the state in grade 3 and 6 points below in grade 4, but 13 points above in grade 5 and 12 points above in grade 6. So the school’s overall positive results do not mean every subject or grade is equally strong.
Results changed unevenly over time. Grade 5 writing improved from 19% to 29% between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, while the state result fell from 38% to 35%; grade 4 science rose from 53% to 61%, and grade 5 editing and mechanics from 52% to 63%. In contrast, the school’s mathematics average fell from 55% to 47%, while the state average remained about 43%. SchoolDigger rated the school four stars in both 2024–2025 and 2025–2026; its statewide percentile moved from 57th in 2023–2024 to 76th, then 72nd. As context, the 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 12.7, and 68% were eligible for free/reduced-price lunch that year. Chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026 was 29%, below the district’s 36% but above the state’s 24%.
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