Schools · Lawrence

Lawrence, KS schools

Lawrence’s public schools score well above Kansas’s averages: 44% of students are proficient in reading against 35.5% statewide, and 83% of high schoolers graduate on time against 88%. Kids attend one of 11 elementary schools through grade 5, then one of 4 middle schools and Lawrence Free State High or Lawrence High.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

B-School Grade #33Best schools in KS (of 123)#114Highest graduation rate in KS (of 125)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

B⁻

Lawrence’s School Grade: B-

The public schools Lawrence’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 53% of Kansas’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.

A-Test scoresDGraduation

Kansas school districts we grade (283)Better than 53%

Lower resultsHigher results

Kansas towns with similar household incomes (858)Better than 50%

High confidence. Built on 4,417 tested students and a graduating class of 1,016; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Kansas’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Kansas only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Kansas with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where Lawrence kids go to school

Grades PK–5

11 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Lawrence Unified School District 497

Grades 6–8

4 middle schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Lawrence Unified School District 497

Grades 9–12

BLawrence Free State High or B-Lawrence High Depends on your address Lawrence Unified School District 497

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well above the state in reading

Reading (grades PK–12, Lawrence Unified School District 497)44%

State average 35.5%

Math (grades PK–12, Lawrence Unified School District 497)31%

State average 27.9%

Graduation · class of 2020

83% graduate on time

Graduation rate

83%

KS: 88%

Graduating class

1,016

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #114 of 125 KS towns →

Districts

The district serving Lawrence

Lawrence Unified School District 497Grades PK–12 · 18 schools · 10,380 students

$12,393 per studentKS $14,966B-

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 24 schools in Lawrence

Level

All 24 Preschool 1 Elementary 14 Middle 4 High 2 Other 3

Type

All 24 Public 17 Charter 1 Private 6

Showing 1–24 of 24 schools

Langston Hughes ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 560 students

Sunflower ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 444 students

Schwegler ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 434 students

Deerfield ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 433 students

Quail Run ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 421 students

New York ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 415 students

Sunset Hill ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 398 students

Hillcrest ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 393 students

Prairie Park ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 354 students

Cordley ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 348 students

Woodlawn ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 240 students

Raintree Montessori SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 391 students

Corpus Christi Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 349 students

Limestone Community SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 45 students

Lawrence West Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 648 students

Lawrence Southwest Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 641 students

Billy Mills Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 494 students

Lawrence Liberty Memorial Central Mid SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 386 students

Lawrence Free State HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,774 students

Lawrence HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,454 students

Lawrence Virtual SchoolOther · Grades K–12 · 543 students

Veritas Christian SchoolOther · Grades PK–12 · 251 students

Bishop Seabury AcademyOther · Grades 6–12 · 179 students

Century School IncPrekindergarten · Grades PK · 91 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.