The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in English language arts. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hayti High
Hayti High School serves grades seven through twelve in the Hayti R-II School District, a small, regular public school in a rural Missouri city that has been steadily losing population. The school’s enrollment is modest for a secondary school, and the student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller white population and a very small Hispanic share. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that reflects the economic conditions of the community. Hayti itself is a car-dependent place where the median household income sits well below the national average, and where the largest employment sectors are retail trade, health care, and transportation and warehousing. The population has been declining for years, and the housing market has shown signs of contraction. This is not a growing or affluent area, and the school’s resources and academic outcomes need to be understood in that light.
Academically, the state testing data tells a straightforward story. On the Missouri Assessment Program, proficiency rates in math and English language arts for both seventh and eighth graders were low. In seventh-grade math and English, fewer than one in five students scored at the proficient level. Eighth-grade math was weaker still, and eighth-grade English was similar to the seventh-grade pattern. Science results for eighth graders were also low. When compared to other districts in Pemiscot County, Hayti High’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile. This is a straightforward and consistent picture: the school’s academic performance, as measured by state assessments, is among the lowest in its county. A parent considering this school should be aware that the majority of students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks on these tests.
The school’s graduation rate was not available in the data, so there is no information on how many students complete high school. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course access were missing, so it is not possible to assess those aspects of the school environment from the available information. The data simply does not cover those areas.
What is clear is that this is a school serving a community with deep economic challenges, and the academic results reflect those challenges. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It covers the full span of secondary grades from middle school through high school. No information was available on what programs or advanced coursework the school offers, such as dual credit, career pathways, or Advanced Placement. Without that data, a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of academic options available to students in the upper grades. The district appears to operate a small set of schools within the city, and no recent major changes or initiatives were found in publicly available sources, so the context is one of stability rather than transformation.
For a family, Hayti High is a school where nearly every student comes from a low-income household, where state test scores are low, and where the surrounding town is economically strained and shrinking. A parent looking at this school would want to explore what supports are in place for students who are behind academically, what the school offers by way of career and college preparation for its high school students, and what the day-to-day climate and safety look like. The available data provides a clear signal about academic performance, but leaves many practical questions about the student experience unanswered.
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