The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Math. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Matthews Elementary
Matthews Elementary serves the small, rural community of Matthews in New Madrid County, Missouri, as a regular public school within the New Madrid County R-I School District. It educates students from preschool through fifth grade and is the only school located in the town itself; older students attend Central High School elsewhere in the district.
The student body is small and predominantly white, with a modest number of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students enrolled. Every single student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that indicates a high level of economic need across the entire student population. The school does not have data for the share of students receiving special education services or those classified as English learners.
State testing results from the most recent year provide a mixed picture, though the data is incomplete due to suppression rules for small groups. In fourth-grade math, roughly three in ten students scored at a proficient or advanced level. By fifth grade, that share dropped to about one in seven students. Fifth-grade science results were weaker, with roughly one in ten students reaching proficiency. English language arts results for all three tested grades—third, fourth, and fifth—were suppressed, so no proficiency rates are available for reading. When looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the four districts in New Madrid County. A multi-year trend line for both math and English language arts shows proficiency rates hovering well below the midpoint, with no clear upward or downward trajectory over the available years. A parent looking at these numbers may want to ask the school directly about its literacy instruction and intervention strategies, since those results are not available through state data.
The town of Matthews itself is a very small, predominantly residential rural community concentrated along Main Street. The population has been in steady decline for some time, a pattern typical of many small Missouri farming towns. The built environment is low-density and oriented around highway access to US Routes 61 and 62 and nearby Interstate 55 rather than walkable streets. There is a branch of the New Madrid County Library in town, a post office, and municipal services including a volunteer fire department. No major employers were identified beyond local government, the school itself, and small businesses, with health care being the largest reported employment sector. Housing values in the area are low relative to state and national benchmarks, and home values have seen a modest decline.
Residents in the Matthews area who are considering this school should understand that it operates in a context of significant economic disadvantage and rural isolation. The district’s publicly reported record shows no notable recent changes or initiatives, so it appears to function as a stable, if understated, part of the community. For families who value a small, neighborhood-based elementary school where every student qualifies for support programs and the setting is genuinely rural and quiet, Matthews Elementary fits that description. For those looking for stronger academic performance data or a wider range of program offerings, this school may not meet those expectations.
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