The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Math. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mark Twain Elem.
Mark Twain Elementary serves the youngest students in the Rolla 31 School District, covering pre-kindergarten through third grade. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. With an enrollment that is quite large for a primary building serving only five grade levels, the school is one of several elementaries feeding into the district’s upper grades.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students who identify as two or more races and smaller shares of Hispanic, Asian, and Black students. Roughly half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that tracks close to the national average for schools in similar settings. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available in the information provided, so a parent who needs those specifics should ask the school directly.
State testing results are available only for third graders, since the earlier grades are not tested under Missouri’s assessment system. On the MAP test, math proficiency fell slightly below the halfway mark of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level. English language arts proficiency was similar. Together, these scores place Mark Twain Elementary’s overall proficiency below the midpoint among its county peers when compared across districts in Phelps County. The gap is not large, but it is present. For a family looking at this school, the numbers give a clear signal: typical academic performance for early elementary, with room for improvement. Because the school only goes through third grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no high school coursework or career-pathway data applies here.
The school sits in Rolla, a city with a distinct character shaped by Missouri University of Science and Technology, federal research agencies like the US Geological Survey, and manufacturing employers such as Brewer Science and Royal Canin. Rolla is the Phelps County seat and a regional hub along I-44. The community has a historic downtown centered on the courthouse, but daily life is largely car-dependent; the city offers a bronze-level bicycle-friendly designation and more than ten miles of trails through its parks system. The Mark Twain National Forest nearly surrounds Rolla, providing extensive outdoor recreation access. The local economy is diverse and relatively stable, with steady population growth reported in recent years.
Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks. Home values have climbed gradually, and rents have risen at a faster clip, making the rental market somewhat tighter than in prior years. For a family moving to Rolla, the housing stock is a mix of older neighborhoods near the university and newer developments on the outskirts. The school itself is located on Mark Twain Drive in a residential part of town.
The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as bond issues, tax levies, or curriculum overhauls that would be relevant to a parent’s decision. That does not mean nothing is happening, only that no specific lasting-impact events were publicly reported in the recent window searched.
For a parent evaluating Mark Twain Elementary, the picture is straightforward. It is a primary school with a sizable enrollment, a largely white and middle-income demographic mix, and academic results that land in the middle range for the county. The setting is a small city with a university anchor and a range of employers, offering more economic diversity than many rural Missouri towns. The school does not yet have a track record beyond third grade, so a family would need to look at the district’s upper elementary and middle schools to see the full academic trajectory. The absence of special-population data, staffing metrics, and attendance rates means those are natural questions to bring up during a school visit.
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