The top reported proficiency rate is 10% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on North Pemiscot Sr. High
North Pemiscot Sr. High is a regular public school in Wardell, Missouri, serving students from sixth through twelfth grade in a single building. The school sits in a very small, entirely rural community in the Bootheel region of Pemiscot County, an area that has seen steady population decline over recent decades. Wardell has no commercial district to speak of, and the built environment is sparse: a post office, a water tower, and residential lots along state routes. The median household income in the town is low, and the poverty rate is high.
The school enrolls roughly a hundred students across grades six through twelve, making it a small school by any measure. Every student at North Pemiscot Sr. High qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the concentrated economic need in this community. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a small number of Black students and a handful of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. No data was available on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner support.
On the most recent state assessments, the Missouri MAP, only a single grade level had test results that could be reported publicly; scores for grades six and seven were suppressed because the number of students tested was too small to release. For eighth grade, the share of students scoring proficient or above was in the single digits in math, English language arts, and science. That is the only academic performance snapshot the state provides for this school. Given the small student population across all tested grades, a parent may want to ask the school directly for a fuller picture of student progress over time and across additional measures beyond state exams.
Looking across other districts in Pemiscot County, North Pemiscot Sr. High sits in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across the tested subjects and grades that could be reported. The county comparison includes seven districts, and the school’s proficiency index is the lowest among them. The graduation rate, while not reported in the available data for this school, is a key question for families of high school students; the data does not indicate whether the rate is suppressed due to small cohort size or simply missing from the source.
No information was available on Advanced Placement, dual-credit, career and technical education, or other program offerings. The directory classifies the school as a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was listed. Discipline data, staffing ratios, and chronic absenteeism rates are also absent from the public records reviewed.
The district, North Pemiscot County R-I, was searched for recent changes such as bond issues, facility improvements, or curriculum updates, but no such parent-relevant developments surfaced in the available sources. Wardell itself continues to lose population, and no new housing or commercial activity was identified.
For a family considering this school, the core picture is of a very small, rural school serving a high-poverty community, where the visible academic results are among the lowest in the county, and where the suppression of most grade-level scores means the available data tells an incomplete story. The school’s size and setting will appeal to some families who prefer a close-knit environment, while others will want more concrete information on course options, postsecondary pathways, and how the school supports students who need additional help.
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