Southwood Elem., Raytown MO - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Southwood Elem.

Southwood Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the Raytown C-2 School District, a largely residential suburb east of Kansas City. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with the largest group of students identifying as Black, followed by White, Hispanic, and students of two or more races. Just over three-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that reflects the economic profile of the community. Raytown’s housing is moderately priced compared to national benchmarks, and the population has been slightly declining, with limited new development. The school district is the city’s largest employer, and the area’s commercial activity is spread along car-oriented corridors rather than a walkable downtown.

Because Southwood serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school participates in Missouri’s state testing program, the MAP, for mathematics, English language arts, and science in grades three through five. Across all tested grades and subjects, proficiency rates fall well below the midpoint among districts in Jackson County. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above is lowest in third grade and slightly higher in the upper grades, but still low. In English language arts, proficiency rates hover at roughly the same level across the three tested grades. In fifth-grade science, about the same portion of students reach proficiency. Taken together, the numbers point to a school where most students are not meeting grade-level expectations on state assessments. A parent considering Southwood would want to ask about the school’s approach to academic intervention and support, particularly in the early grades.

No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing were available for this profile. The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact to report. The school itself lists no special programs on record, so details about offerings such as gifted education, arts, or after-school enrichment are not part of this account.

Raytown is a car-dependent suburb with good highway access. The Rock Island Trail, completed through the city in recent years, provides a paved route for walking and biking. The local library branch and city parks are the main civic anchors. Housing is relatively affordable, with home values below the national median and rents that are not out of line with local incomes.

For families who live in the attendance zone, Southwood Elementary offers a neighborhood school with a diverse student body in a modest suburban setting. The central question the data raise is academic performance. Proficiency on state tests is low across the board, and a family accustomed to higher-performing options would want to understand what the school is doing to move those numbers. Without program data or trend information, the picture is incomplete. A parent should seek a direct conversation with the school about its curriculum, intervention strategies, and how it supports students who are below grade level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 21% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 26% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 25% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 28% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 25% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolRAYTOWN C-2, 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.

Proficiency by household income

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income6%Higher-income28%22 pp gap