The reported proficiency rate for Math is 22%.
Original Research by School Decision on Gideon Elem.
Gideon Elementary sits at the center of its community in a small, rural Missouri Bootheel town that has seen steady population decline over many decades. The school serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade and is the only elementary building in the Gideon 37 district. With a modest enrollment, the school is small enough that most families and staff know each other. The student body is almost entirely white, with a very small Hispanic population. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the high poverty rate in the town.
The academic picture from state testing is limited. Missouri’s assessment data for Gideon Elementary is heavily suppressed due to small group sizes, which is common in very small schools. For the one grade level where math results were reported, proficiency was lower than the state average, though the school’s overall performance across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in New Madrid County. The county comparison set is small, so that relative position should be seen in context. No state testing results were available for English language arts or science for any grade, and no trend data was available to show change over time. A parent considering this school would want to discuss directly with the school how student progress is measured and what supports are in place.
Because Gideon Elementary does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school has no documented information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access. Those gaps are common in smaller rural schools with limited public reporting, but they are also areas a family might want to investigate further by contacting the district office.
The town of Gideon itself is a quiet, remote residential community. It was founded as a lumber company town and its economy has never diversified significantly. The school district is one of the few remaining institutional employers. The built environment is modest single-family homes along a grid of streets, and the school sits on Main Street alongside the district offices and a branch library. There is no public transit; residents rely on cars. Housing is very affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, and home values have declined in recent years.
The Gideon 37 district has no publicly reported recent changes or initiatives that were available in our research, so the district’s strategic direction is not something we can characterize from the data. The school’s website and local sources were not provided.
For a family evaluating this school, the key takeaway is that Gideon Elementary is a small, high-poverty rural school in a shrinking town, with very sparse state test data to judge academic performance. The school appears to be a stable community anchor, but the limited academic indicators, combined with the area’s economic challenges, mean that a parent would need to invest time in direct conversations with the principal and teachers to get a full picture of instruction, student support, and day-to-day experience.
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