The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Diamond Middle
Diamond Middle serves grades five through eight in the Diamond R-IV district, a regular public school in a very small rural community in Newton County, southeast of Joplin. The town of Diamond sits on land that once held prairie and mining operations, and it is known as the birthplace of George Washington Carver. The national monument honoring him lies a short distance west. Diamond has a small-town, rural texture, and the school footprint is integrated into the compact town layout.
The student body is small for a middle school, drawing from the surrounding area. Slightly more than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of moderate economic need. Racially, the student population is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, multiracial, Black, and Asian students. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and serves a single grade band.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, results varied noticeably by grade and subject. In fifth grade math, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced was low, and fifth grade English language arts results were similarly modest. Science in fifth grade showed about a quarter of students at proficiency. By sixth grade, math and ELA rates were higher, though still below what many families would consider strong. Seventh grade showed the strongest results in both math and ELA, with about half of students meeting the bar in English language arts. Eighth grade results were mixed: the math proficiency rate was comparable to the sixth grade level, the science rate was similar to fifth grade science, and the ELA proficiency data for eighth grade was suppressed in the data available. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among districts in Newton County. This is a soft spot; a parent may want to ask the school about targeted support for the lower-performing grade levels, particularly fifth grade.
The school itself does not have a graduation rate, since it ends at eighth grade. It is a feeder into Diamond High School within the same district. No data on discipline, staffing, or course access were available, so those areas remain uncharacterized from this source.
The community context for Diamond is that of a stable, very small town with limited recent growth. Housing values in the area are below the national median, and the town’s population has fluctuated modestly over recent decades. The district serves a single town with no recent major curriculum shifts, referenda, or property tax changes publicly reported. The George Washington Carver National Monument and the Diamond Grove Prairie Conservation Area are the main civic anchors; employment opportunities are limited locally, and many residents likely commute to Joplin or other nearby cities.
Diamond Middle offers a straightforward, small-school setting in a rural town. The academic results are mixed, with the strongest performance in seventh grade and a clear need for improvement in the earlier middle school grades, especially math and ELA in fifth grade. The district and school size mean that families may find a close-knit environment, but the proficiency outcomes are below the county average overall, making this a place where a parent would want to understand the school’s strategies for raising achievement before enrolling.
See more original research from School Decision →