Schools · Topeka
Topeka, KS schools
Topeka’s public schools score well below Kansas’s averages: 23% of students are proficient in reading against 35.5% statewide, and 82% of high schoolers graduate on time against 88%. Kids attend one of 15 schools through grade 6, then one of 8 schools and one of 5 high schools.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
C
Topeka’s School Grade: C
The public schools Topeka’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 71% of Kansas’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
CTest scoresDGraduation
Kansas school districts we grade (283)Better than 29%
Lower resultsHigher results
Kansas towns with similar household incomes (735)Better than 27%
High confidence. Built on 7,720 tested students and a graduating class of 1,035; 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 Topeka kids go to school
Grades PK–6
15 schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501Grades 7–12
8 schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501Grades 12
5 high schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501)23%
State average 35.5%
Reading (Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437)42%
State average 35.5%
Math (grades PK–12, Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501)17%
State average 27.9%
Math (Auburn-Washburn Unified School District 437)34%
State average 27.9%
Graduation · class of 2020
82% graduate on time
Graduation rate
82%
KS: 88%
Graduating class
1,035
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #116 of 125 KS towns →
Districts
Two districts serve Topeka
Topeka Public Schools Unified School District 501Grades PK–12 · 27 schools · 11,695 students
$16,981 per studentKS $14,966DAuburn-Washburn Unified School District 437Grades PK–12 · 9 schools · 5,866 students
$13,052 per studentKS $14,966A-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Colleges
Topeka is home to 2 colleges
Washburn UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Topeka4,956on campusRasmussen University-KansasUniversity or college · For-profit · Topeka205on campus
All 2 colleges in Topeka →Every school
All 40 schools in Topeka
Showing 1–30 of 40 schools
Jardine ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 729 students
CPublicRoss ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 563 students
D-PublicLogan ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–6 · 558 students
C+PublicWanamaker ElemElementary · Grades PK–6 · 475 students
A-PublicWilliams Science and Fine Arts Magnet SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 447 students
D-PublicMcEachron ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 422 students
B+PublicWhitson ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 416 students
BPublicState Street ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 411 students
CPublicScott Dual Language MagnetElementary · Grades PK–5 · 402 students
C-PublicMcCarter ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 401 students
BPublicRandolph ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 346 students
B-PublicHighland Park CentralElementary · Grades K–5 · 318 students
D-PublicMcClure ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 301 students
BPublicLowman Hill ElemElementary · Grades PK–5 · 294 students
C-PublicQuincy ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 142 students
C-PublicMeadows ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5
PublicMost Pure Heart of Mary SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 367 students
PrivateChrist the King SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 230 students
PrivateMater Dei Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 137 students
PrivateTopeka Collegiate SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 137 students
PrivateSt. Matthew Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 136 students
PrivateTopeka Adventist SchoolElementary · Grades 1–7 · 7 students
PrivateJardine Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 508 students
C-PublicMarjorie French Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 480 students
C+PublicEisenhower Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 440 students
D-PublicLandon Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 430 students
CPublicChase Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 390 students
DPublicRobinson Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 361 students
DPublicTopeka HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,578 students
C-PublicTopeka West HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 971 students
C-PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.