Gothenburg Public Schools

The Gothenburg Public Schools district in Nebraska consists of two schools: Dudley Elementary School and Gothenburg Secondary School. The data analysis reveals that Gothenburg Secondary School, the high school, outperforms Dudley Elementary School in several key areas, including statewide ranking, test scores, and graduation rates.

Gothenburg Secondary School is ranked 61st out of 168 Nebraska high schools and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger, while Dudley Elementary is ranked 328th out of 428 Nebraska elementary schools with a 1-star rating. Gothenburg Secondary School also has higher proficiency rates in ACT English, Math, and Science compared to the state average, and a higher 4-year graduation rate of 88.1% compared to the state average. In contrast, Dudley Elementary's proficiency rates in NSCAS English Language Arts and Math are generally lower than the state average.

Both schools, however, share a concerning issue of high chronic absenteeism rates, with 21.1% for both Dudley Elementary and Gothenburg Secondary. Additionally, the socioeconomic differences between the two schools, with Dudley Elementary having a higher percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients, may contribute to the performance gap. The district should closely examine the factors contributing to these differences and develop targeted strategies to address the areas of concern, such as chronic absenteeism and academic achievement, across the district.