Best Public Schools in Zip Code 42544

Summary:

The 42544 zip code is home to a single standout public elementary school, Nancy Elementary School, which serves grades PK-5 and is part of the Pulaski County school district. This school consistently outperforms the county and state averages on standardized tests, with significantly higher proficiency rates in mathematics, reading, and social studies. Nancy Elementary has seen a steady improvement in its statewide ranking, moving from 246th out of 687 Kentucky elementary schools in 2022-2023 to 85th out of 685 in 2024-2025, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite serving a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 68.39% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, Nancy Elementary School is able to achieve strong academic results. The school's spending per student of $13,830 for the 2023-2024 school year is higher than the state average, which may contribute to its success. Additionally, the school has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 15.4, which may also play a role in its academic performance.

While Nancy Elementary School is a standout in the area, there is one area for potential improvement: the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 25.0% in the 2024-2025 school year. This high rate of absenteeism could negatively impact student learning and academic outcomes, and should be a focus for the school's administration.

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 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 Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th 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
Nancy Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	240 Hwy 196	Nancy	42544	Pulaski County	Pulaski County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 636-6338	299	21	14.3	68.2%	282 (94.3%)	8 (2.7%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	83.7	85^th of 685 public elementary schools	87.6%		68.4	181^st of 685 public elementary schools	73.6%	96	59.0	67.0	59.0	67.0	69.0	72.0	49.0	67.0	54.0	$13,830	$1,129	$442	$1,571	$9,821	$2,438	$12,259

Cities Near Zip Code 42544

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Nancy	1.39 mi	1	23^rd
Somerset	5.57 mi	15	38^th
Burnside	9.74 mi	1	8^th
Science Hill	11.35 mi	1	42^nd
Russell Springs	12.78 mi	5	89^th

See the top KY Kentucky cities

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.