The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in Math. The lowest is 56% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hartville Middle
Hartville Middle serves grades six through eight on the main campus of the Hartville R-II School District, a two-campus system that also includes a separate K-5 elementary school in Grovespring, roughly ten miles away. The school sits in Hartville, a small Wright County seat along the Wood’s Fork of the Gasconade River, about sixty miles east of Springfield. The town’s business district centers on the Main and Rolla intersection and is compact, but a tornado in a past decade destroyed much of it, and commercial density has not recovered to previous levels. Hartville’s population has fluctuated over time, showing slow recent growth after a longer decline from an earlier peak. For families, the setting is rural and the town functions as a government and commercial hub for a sparsely populated county, with a lending library, the county courthouse, and a chamber of commerce as civic anchors.
The school enrolls a relatively small number of students. The student body is predominantly white. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-need economic context. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available in the records reviewed. The middle school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and state testing data was available for the district.
On state assessments, Hartville Middle’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts within Wright County, based on the comparison set available. This is a meaningful strength. Looking at individual grade-level results, sixth-grade math proficiency stood well above half of tested students, and sixth-grade English language arts proficiency was also above half but lower than math. Results for seventh and eighth grade in both subjects, as well as eighth-grade science, were suppressed in the data, so a full picture of performance across all grades is not available. A parent may want to ask the school directly for those grade-level results to understand how cohorts compare.
No graduation rate applies here because Hartville Middle does not serve high school grades. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing were not reported in the available records. The district brief turned up no recent major changes of lasting impact.
Housing values in the area sit below both the state and national benchmarks, with a slight year-over-year decline. For a family moving to Hartville, the cost of a home is relatively modest compared to broader markets, consistent with the rural setting.
Overall, Hartville Middle presents as a school with a solid academic proficiency picture in the grades and subjects that were reportable, especially in math at the sixth-grade level, and it compares well against other districts in Wright County. The rural, small-town environment means limited commercial and pedestrian street life, but the school district is clearly anchored in the community. Families considering this school will want to gather the suppressed grade-level data and inquire about special education supports and program offerings, but the available evidence points to a school performing at a high level relative to its county peers.
See more original research from School Decision →