Best Public Schools in Kearney, MO

Summary:

The city of Kearney, Missouri is home to a high-performing school district, the Kearney R-I, which operates 9 schools serving students from early education through high school. The district's schools consistently rank among the top in the state, with several standout institutions like Kearney High School and Kearney Middle School earning 5-star ratings from SchoolDigger.

Kearney High School is the district's crown jewel, ranking 16th out of 367 Missouri high schools and boasting a 96.3% 4-year graduation rate and only a 0.6% dropout rate. The school's students significantly outperform state averages on End of Course exams, with over 55% proficiency in key subjects like Biology, English II, Algebra II, and Government. Kearney Middle School is another standout, ranking 36th out of 438 Missouri middle schools and delivering strong student performance on MAP tests.

While the district's elementary schools generally perform well, with Southview Elementary ranking 91st out of 900 Missouri elementary schools, there is some variation in their rankings and test scores. The district appears to allocate resources equitably, with spending per student ranging from $8,064 to $12,453, but the 16.4% chronic absenteeism rate across all schools is an area of concern that the district may need to address.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAP Mathematics (2025)						MAP Science (2025)		MAP English Language Arts (2025)						MAP Algebra I (2025)	MAP Biology I (2025)	MAP English II (2025)	MAP Algebra II (2025)	MAP Government (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	MAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 5th Grade	MAP Science 8th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAP Algebra I End of Course	MAP Biology I End of Course	MAP English II End of Course	MAP Algebra II End of Course	MAP Government End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kearney Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	902 S Jefferson	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 628-4113	223	19	11.4	32.3%	199 (89.2%)	4 (1.8%)	10 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.0%)	63.9	322^nd of 900 public elementary schools	64.2%		51	444^th of 906 public elementary schools	51.0%	122	48.4	48.7	57.0				37.0		45.4											$15,833	$452	$15,381
Kearney High	Public	10-12	715 E 19th St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4585	814	57	14.2	12.8%	740 (90.9%)	4 (0.5%)	41 (5.0%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (2.9%)	85.3	16^th of 367 public high schools	95.6%		85.3	17^th of 378 public high schools	95.5%	1																57.3	65.7	78.5	55.9	$14,452	$221	$14,231
Southview Elementary	Public	K-5	7 S Campus Dr	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4652	455	32	14.1	16.7%	406 (89.2%)	2 (0.4%)	30 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.7%)	88.1	91^st of 900 public elementary schools	89.9%		82.5	132^nd of 906 public elementary schools	85.4%	41	47.9	66.6	65.7				84.1		59.9	74.6										$12,861	$242	$12,619
Kearney Junior High	Public, Alternative	8-9	2215 S Campus St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-2650	510	38	13.2	19.0%	468 (91.8%)	7 (1.4%)	17 (3.3%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.4%)								(n/a)						64.7		54.6						63.5	58.4					$12,592	$205	$12,387
Hawthorne Elementary	Public	K-5	1815 S Jefferson	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4114	264	20	12.9	8.3%	232 (87.9%)	4 (1.5%)	15 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	68.9	268^th of 900 public elementary schools	70.2%		73.1	218^th of 906 public elementary schools	75.9%	50	51.1	38.0					54.1		58.1	52.2										$14,687	$225	$14,462
Dogwood Elementary	Public	K-5	1400 Cedar Wood Pkwy	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 903-1400	463	32	14.3	17.7%	414 (89.4%)	2 (0.4%)	31 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.5%)	61.6	346^th of 900 public elementary schools	61.6%		56	385^th of 906 public elementary schools	57.5%	39	47.0	39.6	38.0				48.6		55.2		44.0									$12,060	$312	$11,748
Kearney Middle	Public	6-7	200 E 5th St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4115	591	40	14.8	16.9%	522 (88.3%)	4 (0.7%)	31 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.4%)	89.2	36^th of 438 public middle schools	91.8%		87.9	36^th of 451 public middle schools	92.0%					66.7	71.9							51.2	55.1							$12,231	$395	$11,836
Lens	Public	4-5	2215 South Campus Drive	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4798	60	4	13.4	20.0%	52 (86.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (5.0%)	1 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (6.7%)								(n/a)																				$16,121	$57	$16,064

Cities Near Kearney

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lawson	5.73 mi	4	108^th
Excelsior Springs	5.83 mi	8	261^st
Liberty	6.69 mi	18	87^th
Kansas City	8.78 mi	168	297^th
Missouri City	9.34 mi	1

See the top MO Missouri cities

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