Original Research by School Decision on Bevier High
Bevier High is a regular public high school serving grades nine through twelve in the small rural town of Bevier, Missouri, part of the Bevier C-4 school district. The school is housed within a single K–12 complex in the center of town, so students attend school alongside younger peers in a combined campus setting. With a total high school enrollment in the low dozens, this is a small school by any measure. Each grade level has roughly a couple dozen students, creating a peer environment where most students know one another and individual attention from staff is a practical necessity.
The student body is predominantly white, with a very small share of Black students and no other racial or ethnic groups reported. Nearly half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a substantial share that reflects the local economic context. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed. The school’s size and demographics suggest a tight-knit, homogeneous community where family income is modest for a notable portion of families.
On academic performance, the publicly available record is essentially empty. State assessment results for Bevier High were not reported in the data we examined, so there is no proficiency information to characterize. The four-year graduation rate is also absent from this data set. Similarly, chronic absenteeism figures are missing. For a family evaluating this school, the lack of these fundamental metrics means that direct inquiry with the school or district is the only way to gauge academic outcomes. The school may not have posted results due to its small enrollment—state testing suppression rules often apply when a grade level has too few students—but the data we have does not specify a reason. We simply note the gap.
No program offerings were listed in the available materials, so it is not possible to say what advanced, career, or dual-credit pathways exist. A small high school in a rural district may have limited course breadth, but that is an inference from its size, not a documented fact. The district is the Bevier C-4 district, which operates a single K–12 complex. Our search for recent district changes—such as curriculum shifts, property tax issues, or building referenda—turned up nothing of note; no parent-relevant changes were reported in the public sources consulted.
The community context matters for understanding the school’s setting. Bevier is a former coal-mining town in southern Macon County that has seen long-term population decline from its peak mining-era numbers, though the most recent American Community Survey estimate shows a small uptick from the previous year. The town covers a very compact area and has no mention of public transit or extensive pedestrian infrastructure; most residents drive alone to work, with a commute that is typical for a rural area. The housing market is notably affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, a meaningful factor for families looking to relocate. No major new housing developments or commercial projects are described in public sources, and the local economy is very small-scale, dominated by retail trade, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing. The nearest larger town, Macon, is a short drive east and provides additional amenities and employment.
In the context of Macon County, the school has no positioning data for the standard metrics because the underlying values are missing. The comparison set of county districts is therefore not applicable for proficiency, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism. This is not a reflection on the school itself but a feature of the available information.
For a family considering Bevier High, the core picture is that of a very small, rural high school in a low-cost, low-growth community. The absence of test results and graduation data means that the most important academic questions cannot be answered from this profile. A parent would need to contact the school directly to learn about course offerings, college-going rates, and how students perform. The school’s size may offer a close-knit atmosphere and a high degree of teacher accessibility, but the trade-off is likely limited curricular breadth. This setting fits families who want a small-town school and are willing to investigate academic quality on the ground.
See more original research from School Decision →