Summary:
Balko Elementary School and Balko High School are the two schools in Balko: Elementary serves pre-K through grade 8 and has 95 students, while High serves grades 9–12 and has 53; there is no middle school. In 2025–2026, the clearest difference was in mathematics: Elementary had 38% proficient, 13 points above the state’s 25%, while High had 14%, 11 points below it. The most important finding is that the schools’ math results differ by 24 points, so an area-wide picture would hide a substantial school-to-school gap.
The schools stand out in different subjects: High led in ELA I, with 47% proficient compared with Elementary’s 36%, while Elementary was much stronger in math. High’s other reported results were 30% in science, matching the state, and 47% in U.S. History, 6 points above the state. High also reported a 100% graduation rate in 2024–2025, compared with 78% statewide. Both schools had lower chronic absenteeism than the state in 2025–2026: 1% at Elementary and 0% at High, versus 16% statewide.
Results moved down in several areas, though not across the board: Elementary’s ELA I and math scores each fell 6 points from 2024–2025, to 36% and 38%; High’s math fell 5 points to 14%, while its ELA I stayed at 47%. High’s science slipped 1 point and U.S. History fell 10 points. SchoolDigger’s High ranking shifted from 28th of 432 schools in 2023–2024 to 102nd of 462 in 2025–2026, with its percentile moving from 94th to 78th; separately, SchoolDigger rates the Balko district four stars and ranks it 73rd of 450. As context, the schools’ 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were similar—6.9 at Elementary and 7.0 at High—and both reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures for 2024–2025: 48% at Elementary and 32% at High. The schools are small, and the data does not include test-taker counts.
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