The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Eugene Field Elem.
Eugene Field Elementary serves first through fourth grade in the Maryville R-II district, a small college town in northwest Missouri. The school sits in a community shaped by Northwest Missouri State University, the county government, and employers like Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mosaic Medical Center. Maryville’s population has been declining modestly in recent years, and the town retains a compact downtown courthouse square with residential neighborhoods radiating outward. Housing values here run a bit below the state median, and rents are similarly moderate, making the area relatively affordable compared to national benchmarks.
The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Enrollment covers just under three hundred and fifty students, which is a typical size for an elementary building serving this grade span. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with small shares of Hispanic and multiracial students and very few Black or Asian students. Just under half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in a middle range economically for a district in this part of Missouri. The school does not report data on students with disabilities or English learners, so those breakdowns are not available.
On the Missouri Assessment Program tests from the 2024-25 school year, the picture is mixed. In third grade, about a quarter of students scored proficient or advanced in both math and English language arts. In fourth grade, the numbers improved notably: two in five were proficient in math, and nearly half hit that mark in reading and writing. When all tested grades and subjects are averaged together, Eugene Field’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among districts in Nodaway County. That means several other districts in the county posted stronger composite scores, though the gap is not enormous. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet at the proficient level, particularly in the early grades where performance is weakest.
Because the school only goes through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report here, and the data does not include chronic absenteeism figures, so those metrics are simply not part of the picture for this building.
The Maryville district passed a bond issue in spring 2024 that will bring new investment to the school. Voters approved funding for a new career and technical education facility at the high school, along with security upgrades and HVAC renovations at Eugene Field Elementary and the middle school. The bond was structured to avoid raising the property tax levy. Construction on the high school CTE center could begin as early as summer 2025, with completion expected for the 2026-27 school year. The renovations at Eugene Field are part of these same plans, so the building is set to see infrastructure improvements in the near future.
What this means for a family considering the school is straightforward. Eugene Field is a conventional elementary school in a stable, modestly priced college town. Academic results are uneven, with fourth grade showing stronger proficiency than third grade, and the school sits slightly below the county average overall. The peer group is mostly white and economically mixed, typical for this part of Missouri. The district has committed to upgrading the building and expanding high school vocational programs, which could benefit families with younger children who will move up through the system. A parent looking for high elementary test scores would want to investigate the school’s instructional approach and how it addresses early gaps. A parent who values a traditional small-town public school with upcoming facility investments and no new tax burden may find this a reasonable fit.
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