The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Science. The lowest is 26% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Excelsior Springs Middle
Excelsior Springs Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Excelsior Springs 40 School District, located in a small city about a half-hour’s drive northeast of Kansas City. The school enrolls roughly six hundred students, making it a middle-sized middle school for its grade band. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a modest Hispanic minority and a very small Black population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a sizable portion of families face economic strain. The school has not reported counts for students with disabilities or English learners, so the scale of those populations is not visible in the available data.
Excelsior Springs is a historic mineral-springs resort town that later suffered a long economic decline as its spa era ended. In recent decades, it has focused on revitalizing its historic downtown, and its school district appears to have experienced no major policy or facility change substantial enough to register in public search results. The housing market reflects the broader Clay County area: typical home values are somewhat below the state average and well below the national median. Rents, however, are modest enough that renting is generally less expensive than buying with a standard mortgage. The community has a stable population and a family-oriented character.
On Missouri’s state assessments, Excelsior Springs Middle School’s proficiency rates are below the midpoint among Clay County districts, placing in the bottom quarter of that group. In sixth-grade math, slightly more than a quarter of students scored proficient or above. Seventh-grade math results were about the same. Eighth-grade math was lower still. In English language arts, roughly three in ten sixth graders met the proficiency bar, and a similar share of seventh graders did, while eighth graders came in a bit higher. Eighth-grade science was the school’s strongest tested area, with about four in ten students reaching proficiency. Across all subjects and grades, the overall proficiency picture is weak relative to neighboring districts, and a parent may want to ask the school what specific academic interventions or supports are in place.
The school does not report graduation rates because it is a middle school. Course access, discipline data, attendance patterns, and staffing information were not available in the reviewed data, so a family interested in class sizes, elective offerings, or the disciplinary climate would need to inquire directly.
The civic context of Excelsior Springs includes well-preserved historic buildings, a public library branch, and a parks department that runs a golf course. The school itself is located on a campus setting, separate from the downtown core, and the district runs three elementary schools, the middle school, a technical high school, a comprehensive high school, and a career center. The district has not communicated any recent bond referendums, boundary changes, or curriculum shifts that would alter the experience of a new family enrolling today.
For a family weighing this school, the core picture is one of a district that provides a full range of grade levels and includes a career center on the high school side, but where middle-grade state test results are lower than what most Clay County neighbors achieve. The town’s housing is affordable relative to national benchmarks, and the community is stable but not growing rapidly. Families who value historic small-town character and moderate housing costs may find it appealing, but the academic numbers suggest that parents should look closely at how the school supports students who are below grade level and what advanced or enrichment options are available for students who are performing well.
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