The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Science. The lowest is 66% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Steam Academy Middle School
STEAM Academy Middle School is a regular public school serving sixth through eighth grade in Hazelwood, part of the Ferguson-Florissant R-II school district. Its name signals a science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics emphasis, though specific program details were not available in the data. The school occupies a building on Dunn Road in a northern St. Louis suburb that is heavily auto-oriented, with a mix of industrial parks, retail corridors, and residential subdivisions. The city itself has been seeing a slow population decline in recent years, even as major industrial development continues at sites like the former Ford plant redevelopment.
Enrollment is small for a middle school, and the student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller share of White students and smaller groups identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available data.
State assessment results from the Missouri Assessment Program show a notable pattern across grade levels. In seventh and eighth grade, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts are strong, and eighth-grade science results are also robust. Sixth-grade reading proficiency is lower, and sixth-grade math results were suppressed, likely because of small group sizes. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in St. Louis County, a competitive benchmark given the county includes many suburban systems. The improvement from sixth to seventh and eighth grade is a pattern a parent would want to understand better by talking with the school about how it supports students in the transition year.
Because the school serves only middle grades, there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism or discipline data were available. The absence of that information, along with the suppression of some sixth-grade test results, may reflect the small size of the school or reporting thresholds. A parent considering the school should ask directly about student attendance, discipline patterns, and support for the younger middle-school cohort.
The Ferguson-Florissant district has been undergoing significant change. A restructuring plan for the 2027-28 school year is prominently announced, driven by a substantial enrollment decline over the past decade. The district has previously closed elementary schools and converted a high school into a selective STEAM academy. This middle school is part of that same STEAM conversion, so the academic focus is relatively new and may still be evolving. Families should be aware that school assignments and boundaries could shift under the upcoming restructuring, potentially affecting where their child attends beyond middle school.
Home values in Hazelwood are below the national median, and rents have been rising. The county housing market shows a slight dip in median listing prices and an increase in active listings. For a family moving into the area, the combination of an affordable housing market and a middle school with above-average test scores in the upper grades may be appealing, though the district’s instability and high poverty rate are important context. The school offers a focused academic program in a setting that appears to produce strong outcomes for many of its older students.
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