North Kirkwood Middle, Kirkwood MO

Original Research by School Decision on North Kirkwood Middle

North Kirkwood Middle, a regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Kirkwood R-VII district, sits on its own campus in this inner-ring St. Louis suburb. The school is one of two middle schools in a district that voters have recently backed with bond issues for capital improvements, including safety upgrades and classroom additions, all structured to avoid a tax rate increase. The district has also adopted a new K-5 literacy curriculum grounded in the science of reading, a signal of broader instructional direction.

The student body is over 600, drawing from a community that is largely built out and stable, with property values and rents that are elevated relative to national medians. The school’s enrollment is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are Black, Hispanic, or of two or more races. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

On state assessments, the school’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile among districts in St. Louis County, a strong showing. In English language arts, proficiency rates were solid across all three grades, with eighth grade the highest. In math, the pattern was more varied: sixth-grade proficiency was very strong, seventh grade was solid, and eighth grade was notably lower, a pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school. Science, tested in eighth grade only, showed a majority of students meeting the proficiency bar.

Kirkwood itself is a planned residential suburb with a compact, walkable historic downtown centered on a train station that is a daily Amtrak stop. The city has high property values, a central park with an aquatic center and ice rink, and civic anchors like the public library and a children’s museum. The city is largely built out, with no major new housing developments identified, and its population is stable. The school district is the oldest in St. Louis County and is a significant local employer.

This is a middle school in a community where residential stability is high, recent bond approvals signal ongoing facility investment, and academic proficiency across subjects is above the county median. The variability in math performance by grade is the one area that merits a closer look. For a family, the peer environment is shaped by the community’s demographic composition and the small share of students from low-income households.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 682%

School 82% · District 75% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 66% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 51% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 71% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 59% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 879%

School 79% · District 73% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Science

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 64% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolKIRKWOOD R-VII, 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.