The reported proficiency rate for Math is 21%.
Original Research by School Decision on Avilla Elem.
Avilla Elementary serves the children of an exceptionally small rural village in Jasper County, Missouri, a place that once thrived along old U.S. Route 66 but has since dwindled to a fraction of its former population. The school itself, a regular public school spanning kindergarten through eighth grade, is the only school in the Avilla R-XIII district. For high school, families must look to neighboring communities such as Carthage, Sarcoxie, or Jasper. The village of Avilla sits amid agricultural land, with few commercial buildings left; the U.S. Post Office operates out of a historic bank building that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. There is no public library or public transit, and most residents commute elsewhere for work. The district has no reported recent changes, referendums, or program overhauls, which is consistent with a very small, stable, single-building operation.
With a total enrollment that is small even for a K-8 school, Avilla Elementary has class sizes that likely allow for close interaction between students and teachers. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority. A little over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant share of families face economic pressure.
State assessment data from the Missouri Assessment Program for the 2024-25 school year is limited, a direct consequence of the school’s small size. For many tested grades and subjects, results are suppressed because the number of students tested is too low to report publicly under the state’s privacy rules. For the outcomes that are available, the picture is one to pay attention to. In fourth-grade math, about one in six students scored at the proficient level or above. In seventh-grade math, that figure rose to about one in four. All English language arts and science results are suppressed, so there is no public data for those areas. Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to consider.
When compared to other school districts in Jasper County, Avilla R-XIII falls in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, according to the available metrics. That ranking should be read with the school’s size and grade span in mind. The comparison is based on a proficiency index that averages together the few reported rates, and a school of this scale can move considerably from year to year depending on which cohort is tested. A parent weighing this school may want to talk directly with the principal or teachers about how the school supports students who are not yet meeting state benchmarks, and whether there are specific interventions in place.
The school environment reflects its setting. The village’s population has been in long-term decline since the interstate highway bypassed old Route 66 in the 1960s, though recent estimates suggest a very slight uptick. There are no major employers in town; the school itself is a central institution alongside the post office and a couple of churches. The surrounding landscape is farmland and pasture, and the community’s recent restoration efforts have focused on the Avilla Saddle Club Arena, which involves local 4-H clubs. For families considering this school, the academic pathway is clearly defined through eighth grade, after which students must transition to a different district for high school. The peer environment is one of a small, tight-knit rural cohort where students likely know each other across multiple grade levels.
In summary, Avilla Elementary offers a small-scale, rural K-8 education in a community that has seen better economic days and where many families are working-class. The state testing results that are available indicate that math proficiency lags behind county peers, and there is no public data for reading and science. A parent interested in this school would do well to ask about the academic supports available for students who need extra help, how the school prepares its students for the transition to high school, and what enrichment opportunities exist despite the limited size. The village itself provides little in the way of commercial amenities or housing growth, so the decision to live here is closely tied to the choice of this school.
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