The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in Math. The lowest is 51% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on East Elementary
East Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in the Jackson R-II School District, a fast-growing district in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau County. The school’s enrollment is large for its grade band, and the student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as Asian, Black, Hispanic, multiracial, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places it in a lower-poverty range compared to many Missouri elementary schools.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show that a strong majority of third and fourth graders scored at the proficient level or above in both math and English language arts. In each tested grade and subject, a clear majority of students met the state’s proficiency benchmark. When measured by a composite proficiency index covering all tested subjects and grades, East Elementary ranked in the top quartile relative to districts in Cape Girardeau County, meaning its academic performance sits among the highest in the county. Science results are available only from an earlier year and are not presented here; a parent may want to ask the school about current science instruction.
Because the school ends at fourth grade, there are no graduation-rate data, and no chronic absenteeism or discipline figures were available in the sources provided. The data also did not include counts of students receiving special education services or English learner supports, so a parent interested in those programs should follow up directly with the school or the district for those details.
East Elementary is a regular public school; it is not a charter or magnet school. Title I status was not reported, so the school may or may not receive federal funds based on poverty concentration. The district brief shows that in 2022 voters approved a bond issue to fund a new elementary school and facility upgrades without a property tax increase. That new elementary school opened for the 2024-25 school year, designed to relieve overcrowding across the district. The district also opened an Innovation Center for secondary students, with labs in robotics, engineering, and computer science, and the board adopted a five-year strategic plan in 2025. These moves suggest a district investing in growth and expanding offerings.
The community of Jackson bills itself as the fastest growing in southeast Missouri. Its historic uptown, centered on a courthouse square, remains a commercial hub, and residential neighborhoods range from older homes to newer subdivisions. The city maintains a park and trail system and shares a border with Cape Girardeau, giving residents access to large retail areas, two regional hospitals, and Southeast Missouri State University. Jackson’s growth has been steady, and the district’s bond-financed construction indicates that school capacity is keeping pace with the area’s population increases. The housing market in the ZIP code covering East Elementary reflects home values near the statewide benchmark.
A parent considering East Elementary will find a school with consistently strong test results in the early grades and a district that has recently added classroom space and program capacity. The student population is not highly diverse, and the share of students from lower-income households is modest. The school’s size means a family might experience a busy building with many classmates, but also the resources that come with a larger enrollment. A family accustomed to high-performing suburban elementary schools would likely find East Elementary a comfortable fit. A family with a child who needs specialized support services may want to ask the school about staffing and program specifics, as those data were not available in this profile.
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