Kay County Schools & Education
Kay County, Oklahoma
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataSchool Score
18/100
Percentile-style score
Score Band
Lower Signal
Graduation Rate
83.4%
National avg 87.5%
Education Statistics
Graduation Rate
83.4%
National avg 87.5%
State avg 84.3%
Per-Pupil Spending
$6,198
National avg $13,239
State avg $6,520
School Score
18/100
Percentile-style score
State avg 28/100
State Score Position
#55
of 77 counties by score
Education Data Brief: Kay County
Measured School Summary
Kay County faces educational challenges with a school score of 18/100 and a graduation rate of 83.4%, falling below typical benchmarks.
Funding Context
At $6,198 per pupil, Kay County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.
Neighbor Context
Its school score is 34% below the Oklahoma average, and its graduation rate trails the state average by 0.9 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 5% lower than the state norm.
School Data Brief
How to read Kay County before comparing districts
County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.
Local context that changes the interpretation
22 public schools and 6 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.
Overall screen
18/100
Lower measured signal. Ranks #55 of 77 Oklahoma counties with school score data.
Completion
83.4%
0.9 pts below the state average
Funding context
$6,198
$322 below the state average
School coverage
22
6 districts represented in the county school list.
Start with measured county context
The county-level signal is lower, so review individual schools and local records before interpreting the score. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.
Check the local school mix
Kay County has 22 public schools across 6 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.
Verify local rules
Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.
What Kay County school data means before you move
County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.
Review-carefully county
Kay County has a lower measured county-level school signal. Use the school table to look for specific districts or grade bands that may differ from the county average.
State position
#55
of 77 Oklahoma counties with school score data. The county score is 10 points below the state average.
Data confidence
Usable
3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.
K-12 continuity check
These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.
PONCA CITY
Elementary to high school visible
4,612 students
11 listed schools in this county slice.
BLACKWELL
Elementary to high school visible
1,121 students
3 listed schools in this county slice.
TONKAWA
Elementary to high school visible
854 students
3 listed schools in this county slice.
NEWKIRK
Elementary to high school visible
743 students
3 listed schools in this county slice.
District reality check
PONCA CITY is the largest listed district slice, with 11 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.
What the data cannot tell you
NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.
Questions to ask before choosing an address
Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Kay County?
Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Kay County district systems?
What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?
If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?
Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?
Data Story
Ponca City District anchors Kay County with 1,427-student high school
Education data brief for Kay County, Oklahoma.
Kay County's district structure is defined by the Ponca City district, which enrolls 4,612 students, or 61% of the county's total public school population. Ponca City High School is the county's largest institution with 1,427 students, a scale significantly larger than the county's average school size of 343. In total, the county operates 22 schools across six districts, with a heavy emphasis on town locales (16 schools) over rural ones (6 schools). Despite the scale of its largest district, the county's per-pupil expenditure of $6,198 is below both the state average of $6,520 and the national average of $13,000. The graduation rate of 83.4% nearly mirrors the state average of 84.3% but is lower than the national 87.0% mark. The county's school score is 18.4, below the state average of 27.7 and the national median of 50.0. See the NCES Common Core of Data for school-level records.
Sources
- NCES Common Core of Data
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS
School Overview
Total Schools
22
in Kay County
Reported Enrollment
7,546
22 schools reporting
School Districts
6
districts
Charter Schools
0
0% of total
School Level Breakdown
6 School Districts in Kay County
PONCA CITY
GuideBLACKWELL
TONKAWA
NEWKIRK
PECKHAM
KILDARE
22 Public Schools in Kay County
Sorted by reported enrollment. Dedicated profile pages are available for 1 high-enrollment school; every NCES public school remains listed here.
NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance dataLevel
Showing 20 of 22 matching schools
| School Name | Profile | District | Location | Grades | Type / Flags | Reported Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PONCA CITY HS | Profile | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | 9–12 | High | 1,427 |
| PONCA CITY WEST MS | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | 6–7 | Middle | 686 |
| BLACKWELL ES | Record | BLACKWELL | Blackwell, 74631Rural: Fringe | PK–5 | Primary | 531 |
| TONKAWA ES | Record | TONKAWA | Tonkawa, 74653Town: Remote | PK–5 | Primary | 462 |
| PONCA CITY EAST MS | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | 8 | Middle | 353 |
| LINCOLN ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 334 |
| BLACKWELL HS | Record | BLACKWELL | Blackwell, 74631Town: Remote | 9–12 | High | 331 |
| NEWKIRK ES | Record | NEWKIRK | Newkirk, 74647Rural: Distant | PK–5 | Primary | 327 |
| WOODLANDS ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74604Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 281 |
| ROOSEVELT ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 277 |
| E. M. TROUT ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74604Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 265 |
| UNION ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 263 |
| BLACKWELL MS | Record | BLACKWELL | Blackwell, 74631Town: Remote | 6–8 | Middle | 259 |
| WASHINGTON PRE KG CENTER | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | PK | Other | 256 |
| LIBERTY ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 255 |
| NEWKIRK HS | Record | NEWKIRK | Newkirk, 74647Rural: Distant | 9–12 | High | 236 |
| TONKAWA HS | Record | TONKAWA | Tonkawa, 74653Town: Remote | 9–12 | High | 216 |
| GARFIELD ES | Record | PONCA CITY | Ponca City, 74601Town: Remote | KG–5 | Primary | 215 |
| NEWKIRK MS | Record | NEWKIRK | Newkirk, 74647Rural: Distant | 6–8 | Middle | 180 |
| TONKAWA MS | Record | TONKAWA | Tonkawa, 74653Town: Remote | 6–8 | Middle | 176 |
Education Funding Detail
Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure
$6,198
State avg $6,520
Compare Nearby Counties
Review Kay County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.
Open CompareBrowse Public Schools
See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.
View SchoolsFrequently Asked Questions
Which Oklahoma counties have the highest graduation rates?
What is per-pupil spending like in Oklahoma?
How should I read the school score in Kay County?
What is the graduation rate in Kay County?
How much does Kay County spend per student?
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Data Sources
Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.
Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.