The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Laquey R-v Elem.
Laquey R-V Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in a small, unincorporated community in the Ozarks of Pulaski County. The school is the main institutional presence in Laquey, a place that was originally a stop on the old U.S. Route 66 alignment but was bypassed when the road was straightened decades ago. What little commercial core existed faded; the post office has relocated, and the community now consists of scattered rural residences along two-lane highways. Interstate 44 runs about a mile north, providing regional connectivity, but there is no functional downtown, no sidewalks, no public transit, and no identified public parks or library. The campus sits about half a mile southwest of the old crossroads along a rural highway. For a family considering this area, the setting is deeply rural and car-dependent, with the school district serving as the anchor and Fort Leonard Wood, the major Army installation to the east, as the dominant regional employer.
The school is a regular public school serving roughly the full elementary span. Its enrollment is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area’s economic profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available records. The school does not offer high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider; the district operates a separate middle and high school for older students elsewhere on the same campus.
On the state’s MAP assessments, proficiency rates vary across grades and subjects. In third grade, roughly a third of students met the proficient or above threshold in both math and English language arts. By fourth grade, the math proficiency rate was markedly lower, while ELA also dropped. Fifth-grade science results, from the prior testing year, show about a quarter of students scored proficient. These are modest figures in absolute terms. However, when placed against other school districts in Pulaski County, Laquey R-V Elementary’s combined proficiency index sits above the midpoint of the county’s range. That means the school is not an outlier on the low end locally, even as the absolute rates leave room for improvement. A parent concerned about academic rigor would likely want to follow up directly with the school about how it supports students who are not yet at the proficient threshold, particularly in math at the upper elementary grades.
Housing in the Laquey ZIP code area is relatively affordable compared with the nation and the state overall. Home values are below both the Missouri and national benchmarks, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost, at a recent interest rate, is lower than typical rent costs in the area. The broader economic context shows a national unemployment rate that has stayed steady in a moderate range, and real median household income nationally has seen slow growth over the past several years. For families who can work remotely or commute to Fort Leonard Wood or nearby Waynesville, the area offers a low-cost housing option tied to a small rural school.
The Laquey R-V district does not appear to have undergone any recent major structural changes or strategic initiatives that were publicly reported, so the school’s programming and support structures are likely consistent year to year. Given the school’s size and rural location, class sizes may be manageable, but no staffing or class-size data were available in the source materials. A family drawn to a quiet, rural elementary experience with a clear community anchor and home values well below state averages will find this school fits that profile. One looking for high absolute test scores or extensive program offerings will want to investigate further, since the proficiency levels are modest and the school’s resources are not detailed in the data provided.
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