The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Richland Elem.
Richland Elementary is a small, regular public school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the Richland R-IV School District. Its enrollment is small for an elementary school serving that grade span. The student body is almost entirely white, and a very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. This is a school where economic disadvantage is the norm.
The school sits in Richland, a small Ozarks town that spans three counties. The town’s population has been relatively stable over recent census counts, with a modest decline recorded in 2020 and a possible slight uptick in the American Community Survey estimate that followed. The city website describes Richland as a growing community with affordable, open-country living, and housing values and rents are well below national averages. The local economy centers on health care, the school district itself, municipal government, and the nearby Fort Leonard Wood military installation. There is an industrial park with a municipal airport, but no large-scale private employer was identified in public records. The town has a branch of the Pulaski County Library District and a Park Board that oversees recreation. Car dependence is high; no public transit system was mentioned.
Academic results are available for some grades and subjects, though many figures are suppressed, likely due to small group sizes. For the grades and subjects where proficiency rates were reported, the pattern is mixed. In mathematics, reported proficiency rates across grades four, five, and six all fell below the state’s midpoint, with fifth grade particularly low. In English language arts, only third grade had a reported rate, and that rate was close to half of students meeting the proficient-or-above bar. Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade ELA results, as well as fifth grade science results, were suppressed, so a full picture is not available. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades, which averages the reported rates, sits above the midpoint among the six districts in Pulaski County. That relative position reflects a set where the range is wide; Richland Elementary’s index is above the median of the cohort but still far from the top of the county pack. Parents will want to note that the available data points are limited and that suppressed results mean the school’s performance in several key areas is not publicly reported.
Because the school serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism data, discipline data, or staffing ratios are available in the record. The school’s program offerings are not detailed in the data we have, so families looking for enrichment, music, art, or specific academic interventions should ask the school directly.
Richland Elementary is a school that fits a family seeking a small, rural setting with a tight-knit community feel. The student body is economically homogeneous at a high level of need, and the school’s academic results, while above the midpoint of its county peers in a combined index, show real variation by subject and grade. The housing market is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and the town offers basic civic infrastructure without major amenities. A parent moving into the area should expect a straightforward, no-frills elementary experience in a district that, according to publicly reported information, has not seen major recent changes. Anyone with particular academic concerns, especially in math, may want to follow up directly with the school to understand how supports are structured for students who fall below proficiency.
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