Duncan

Duncan has seven schools: five elementary schools serving kindergarten through grade five, one middle school serving grades six through eight, and one high school serving grades nine through twelve. In 2025–26, their average results were 24% in ELA, 25% in Mathematics, and 30% in Science, compared with state rates of 26%, 25%, and 30%. But school-to-school ranges were wide: 25 points in ELA, 26 in Mathematics, and 31 in Science. The most important takeaway is that averages close to state results conceal substantial differences among individual schools.

Plato Elementary School stands out most: it led ELA at 35% and Mathematics at 40%, and tied Emerson Elementary School for the Science lead at 44%. Plato was the only school above state rates in all three subjects; its results were 9 points above the state in ELA, 15 in Mathematics, and 14 in Science. Duncan Middle School also did well in Mathematics at 31%, six points above the state, and exceeded state rates in that subject in grades six, seven, and eight. At the other end, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School scored 10% in ELA, 18% in Mathematics, and 13% in Science—16, 7, and 17 points below state rates. Duncan High School had a mixed profile: its ELA result was above the state rate, but its Mathematics, Science, and U.S. History results were below.

Across the two years, the group’s ELA average was unchanged at 24%, while Mathematics fell from 28% to 25% and Science from 34% to 30%; the Science decline was the largest. Individual schools varied: Plato improved in ELA and Mathematics but fell in Science, while Duncan Middle improved in ELA and Mathematics and held steady in Science. SchoolDigger ranked Plato and Duncan Middle at the 72nd percentile in 2025–26; Emerson was at the 55th percentile. As context, all seven schools reported the same low-income measure, free/reduced lunch eligible (FRL), for 2024–25: shares ranged from 43% at Plato to 94% at Woodrow Wilson. These figures describe differences between schools but do not explain them.