The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Potosi Elem.
Potosi Elementary is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through grade 3, part of the Potosi R-III school district. It is one of the elementary schools in a district that covers the small rural county seat of Potosi, Missouri, about 72 miles southwest of St. Louis in what was historically the state’s Lead Belt. Potosi itself is a stable, slow-growth community with a traditional county-seat downtown centered on the Washington County Courthouse square, and its economy draws on healthcare, light manufacturing, retail, and a state correctional center. Housing values in the area are well below the national median, reflecting the area’s low cost of living.
The school enrolls several hundred students across grades PK through 3, with no prekindergarten count reported and roughly similar-sized classes in kindergarten through grade 3. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a handful of children from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. All of the school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a measure that captures the economic need in the community.
Because Potosi Elementary serves only early elementary grades, state testing data is available for just one tested grade: grade 3. On the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), the school’s third graders demonstrated proficiency in math and English language arts at rates that, when averaged across subjects, place the school in the top quarter of school districts within Washington County. This comparative position is based on a small set of four districts in the county疫情 and suggests that academic performance at Potosi Elementary is on the higher side relative to nearby peers, even though the raw proficiency rates themselves are moderate. The school’s test participation rates were suppressed in the data, so it is not possible to verify whether all enrolled students were tested.
No multi-year trend data was available to show whether performance has been improving or declining. The school also reported no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing. Because the school serves only through third grade, there is no graduation rate to report here, and families will need to look at the district’s upper elementary, middle, and high schools for a complete picture of academic pathways. No program offerings—such as gifted services, early childhood special education, or enrichment—were listed in the data, so parents should ask the school directly about what is available beyond the core curriculum.
The Potosi R-III district did not report any recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, curriculum overhauls, or tax referendums in publicly available sources, so the district’s operations appear to have been stable in the period examined.
For a family considering this school, the main takeaways are straightforward. Potosi Elementary offers early elementary education in a rural, low-cost community with a high degree of economic need. Academic results for the single tested grade are above the county midpoint, but the school’s small size and narrow grade span mean that most families will also need to evaluate the district’s subsequent schools. The student population is not diverse by race or ethnicity, and the school serves a universally low-income population. Parents who want to know more about class sizes, teacher qualifications, or before- and after-school care will need to contact the school directly, as those details were not available in the data provided.
See more original research from School Decision →