Best Public Schools in Kearney, MO

Summary:

The city of Kearney, Missouri is home to a high-performing school district, with 7 schools serving students from elementary through high school. The district's standout schools include Kearney High School, which consistently ranks among the top high schools in the state, and Kearney Middle School, which also performs exceptionally well and ranks in the top 10% of Missouri middle schools.

The elementary schools in the Kearney R-I district also demonstrate strong academic performance, with Hawthorne Elementary standing out as a top-performing school, ranking in the top 25% of Missouri elementary schools. The district's schools generally excel on state assessments, with many exceeding the district and state averages in core subjects like Math, English Language Arts, and Science.

While the Kearney school district as a whole appears to be a high-performing system, there are some areas that may warrant further investigation, such as the variation in performance between the elementary schools and the district's relatively high chronic absenteeism rate of 16.4%. Additionally, the range in free/reduced lunch rates across the schools suggests the district serves a diverse student population with varying levels of economic disadvantage, which is an important factor to consider when analyzing the schools' performance and allocating resources.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				MAP Mathematics (2024)						MAP Science (2024)		MAP English Language Arts (2024)						MAP Algebra I (2024)	MAP Biology I (2024)	MAP English II (2024)	MAP Government (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 5th Grade	MAP Science 8th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAP Algebra I End of Course	MAP Biology I End of Course	MAP English II End of Course	MAP Government End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kearney Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	902 S Jefferson	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 628-4113	240	19	12.5	30.4%	209 (87.1%)	4 (1.7%)	13 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.4%)	51	444^th of 906 public elementary schools	51.0%		65.3	300^th of 898 public elementary schools	66.6%	144	53.7	46.3	33.3				24.2		58.9		33.2								$12,453	$405	$12,048
Kearney High	Public	10-12	715 E 19th St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4585	804	58	13.9	12.8%	739 (91.9%)	5 (0.6%)	29 (3.6%)	5 (0.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.0%)	85.3	17^th of 378 public high schools	95.5%		91.3	3^rd of 352 public high schools	99.1%	14																53.4	69.4	52.0	$11,500	$178	$11,322
Southview Elementary	Public	K-5	7 S Campus Dr	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4652	458	31	14.9	15.7%	417 (91.0%)	3 (0.7%)	23 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.3%)	82.5	132^nd of 906 public elementary schools	85.4%		82.9	120^th of 898 public elementary schools	86.6%	12	38.6	69.7	64.3				72.5		43.9	76.6	73.9								$10,172	$273	$9,900
Kearney Junior High	Public, Alternative	8-9	2215 S Campus St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-2650	534	37	14.5	19.3%	499 (93.4%)	3 (0.6%)	18 (3.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.2%)								(n/a)						63.3		49.9						65.5	64.7				$10,142	$310	$9,832
Hawthorne Elementary	Public	K-5	1815 S Jefferson	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4114	265	22	12.2	13.6%	237 (89.4%)	2 (0.8%)	13 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.9%)	73.1	218^th of 906 public elementary schools	75.9%		86.4	91^st of 898 public elementary schools	89.9%	127	44.6	57.7	62.7				44.1												$11,758	$332	$11,425
Kearney Middle	Public	6-7	200 E 5th St	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4115	558	43	12.8	19.4%	490 (87.8%)	6 (1.1%)	30 (5.4%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (4.8%)	87.9	36^th of 451 public middle schools	92.0%		90	29^th of 459 public middle schools	93.7%	7				66.3	68.0							46.2	46.6						$12,286	$413	$11,873
Kearney Early Education Center	Public	PK	150 W State Route 92	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4650	77	8	10.2	27.3%	58 (75.3%)	2 (2.6%)	11 (14.3%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.5%)								(n/a)
Lens	Public	3-5	2215 South Campus Drive	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	No	(816) 628-4798	127	8	15.8	26.0%	114 (89.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.5%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.9%)	75.5	191^st of 906 public elementary schools	78.9%		69.2	255^th of 898 public elementary schools	71.6%	64		28.9					75.5		61.7		68.8								$8,064	$112	$7,952
Dogwood Elementary	Public	K-5	1400 Cedar Wood Pkwy	Kearney	64060	Clay County	Kearney R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(816) 903-1400	437	31	14.1	18.5%	384 (87.9%)	2 (0.5%)	32 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.3%)	56	385^th of 906 public elementary schools	57.5%		69.7	246^th of 898 public elementary schools	72.6%	139	32.7	34.3	51.3				41.4		54.6	44.7	41.4								$9,949	$300	$9,649

Cities Near Kearney

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lawson	5.73 mi	4	105^th
Excelsior Springs	5.83 mi	8	248^th
Liberty	6.69 mi	18	108^th
Kansas City	8.78 mi	168	296^th
Missouri City	9.34 mi	1

See the top MO Missouri cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.