The reported proficiency rate for Math is 21%.
Original Research by School Decision on Cooter R-iv
Cooter R-IV is a small, rural school district in Pemiscot County, Missouri, serving a community of about that size in the southeastern corner of the state from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is composed of two schools, Cooter Elementary and Cooter High, and enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly white, with very small numbers of students who are Black, Hispanic, or of two or more races. The district did not report the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and data on special education and English learner populations were also not available from the state.
Academically, the data that is available paints a limited picture. Missouri’s state testing results for the district are heavily suppressed for privacy reasons, which is common for very small testing cohorts. Only one grade-level result was reported in math: third graders showed a proficiency rate that placed them in the top quartile among Pemiscot County’s districts, though the overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades also landed in that top quartile for the county. For English language arts, every grade from third through eighth had its result suppressed. The same was true for science in grades five and eight. A parent looking for a comprehensive view of the district’s academic standing will find the gaps substantial. The district does not have a reported graduation rate in the available data, so the reader should check directly with the school for that figure.
The chronic absenteeism rate, which measures how many students miss a significant portion of the school year, was reported and sits above the midpoint among the county’s districts. This is an area where a family may want to ask the school about attendance patterns and what supports are in place.
Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range among the seven districts in Pemiscot County, on the lower half of that spectrum. Housing in the area is notably affordable, with a weighted home value estimate substantially below both state and national benchmarks, and home values in the district’s primary zip code have declined over the most recent year measured. The estimated monthly mortgage payment is low relative to national median household income, indicating that the cost of homeownership here is a modest share of what a typical American household earns.
Cooter R-IV did not provide data on many of the program offerings or academic pathways that families often weigh. Information on advanced coursework, career and technical education, dual credit, or AP classes was absent. The district brief turned up no recent changes to curriculum, facility referendums, tax rates, or pedagogy that would directly affect a parent’s decision. The district’s small size and rural setting mean that class groups are very small at each grade level, and the two-school structure keeps all students within a single elementary and a single high school.
For a family considering a move to this part of Missouri, the district offers the intimacy of a small community school, the chance for a student to be well known by teachers and staff, and a housing market that is among the most affordable in the region. The trade-offs are the thin publicly available data on student outcomes, the absence of information about advanced or specialized programs, and an attendance challenge that the district is likely aware of but has not publicly detailed. A parent would be well served to visit, talk with the principal about academic expectations and supports, and ask directly about high school outcomes and course options.
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