Thomas Jefferson Middle, Jefferson City MO

Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Jefferson Middle

Thomas Jefferson Middle is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in Jefferson City, the state capital of Missouri. The school is part of the Jefferson City district and sits within a community whose economy is anchored by state government, healthcare, manufacturing such as Hitachi, and higher education including Lincoln University, a public HBCU. The city’s built environment centers on the Missouri State Capitol complex on a bluff above the Missouri River, with a mix of denser downtown areas and more sprawling residential and commercial development. Population has been slightly declining in recent years, and an EF-3 tornado caused extensive damage on the city’s southwest side in recent memory, which likely shaped local development patterns.

The student body at Thomas Jefferson Middle is majority white, with a substantial share of Black students, a modest share of Hispanic students, and smaller shares of Asian students and students of two or more races. American Indian or Alaska Native students make up a very small portion of the population. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is above half, reflecting a significant concentration of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, so a family may wish to ask the school directly about those supports.

On the Missouri Assessment Program, the school's proficiency rates in English language arts are broadly similar to what many middle schools see, with a majority of students scoring proficient or above in sixth and eighth grades and a slightly lower share in seventh grade. In math, performance is more uneven. The share of students scoring proficient or above is around half or slightly less in sixth and seventh grades, then drops to below half in eighth grade. On the eighth grade science test, the share proficient or above is a similar magnitude to the math eighth grade figure. Looking across all tested subjects and grades, Thomas Jefferson Middle's overall proficiency is above the midpoint among middle schools and K-12 buildings in Cole County, meaning it sits in the upper half of that group but is not at the top.

The school carries a moderate enrollment for a middle school in this grade band. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, course access, staffing ratios, or discipline, so a parent will want to investigate those areas with the school directly. The Jefferson City district did not have publicly reported strategic changes or recent initiatives in the source materials, so the current focus appears to be on maintaining existing programs rather than on a shift in direction.

For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one where literacy results are a relative strength, while math results, especially by eighth grade, are a point where a parent may want to look into this further with the school. The student population is economically diverse, and the local setting is a small capital city with a government-town feel rather than a fast-growing suburb or a quiet rural district.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 39% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 28% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 45% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 44% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 47% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Science

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 36% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median

This schoolJEFFERSON CITY, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income67%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income59%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income35%Higher-income70%35 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income62%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income60%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income48%22 pp gap