Cassville Middle, Cassville MO - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Cassville Middle

Cassville Middle serves grades six through eight in the Cassville R-IV district, a regular public school in the small rural Ozarks town that is the Barry County seat. The school draws its students from a community that is growing slowly, with housing values running below the state average and a mix of residential and commercial development centered on a traditional county-seat layout. The district itself has a notable parent-relevant policy: in 2022 it reinstated corporal punishment as a disciplinary option, available only when a parent has explicitly approved it, reversing a prior ban.

With a student body that is overwhelmingly white and a majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, the peer environment reflects the area’s demographics and economic profile. The enrollment is of a size typical for a rural middle school serving these three grade levels. State testing data from the Missouri Assessment Program shows a varied picture across subjects and grades. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above changes from grade to grade, and in English language arts the pattern also shifts, with some grades seeing a smaller share meeting the benchmark. Science results for the tested grade show a similar range. Overall, though, when compared with other districts in Barry County, the school’s combined proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it among the stronger performers in that local set. This means that within the county, Cassville Middle is on the higher end academically, even if the absolute proficiency rates are moderate.

The community context is one of modest growth. Cassville, a rural city in the Ozarks with nearby state parks and a lake, offers a slow-growth environment with a traditional small-town civic core. Housing is more affordable than the state median, which may be a factor for families considering relocation. The school sits within a district that provides a full K-12 pathway, with an elementary, intermediate, and high school also in the system.

For a family deciding whether this school fits, the academic picture is mixed: the school is a top-tier performer within Barry County, but a parent looking at raw proficiency percentages might want to discuss with the school how support is targeted for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks in reading and math. The discipline policy, including the parental-opt-in corporal punishment option, is an explicit consideration. The student body is not highly diverse racially, and the economic need is substantial. The setting is decidedly rural and small-town, with the advantages of outdoor recreation and a lower cost of living, and the limitations on walkability and commercial density that come with that. No information was available on advanced coursework, extracurricular program breadth, or chronic absenteeism, so those are gaps a parent would need to fill through direct inquiry.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 17 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Science

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 9 pts above state median

This schoolCASSVILLE R-IV, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income66%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income42%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income62%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income58%12 pp gap