The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mark Twain Elem.
Mark Twain Elementary is a closed school. It no longer serves students in St. Joseph, Missouri. That is the most important fact about this school for any parent or resident looking into it today. The archives show it was a regular public school within the St. Joseph School District, serving a set of grades that the data records as "M through M," a coding that appears to align with a middle-school grade span.
Because the school is closed, no current enrollment figures, student demographics, or program offerings are available. The assessment data that does exist comes from the 2022-23 school year, before the closure, and it provides the clearest picture of what the school was. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced was low across all tested grades: third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade. In English language arts, fourth-grade proficiency was also low. Fifth and sixth grade ELA results were somewhat higher but still in a modest range. Science results for fifth grade were similar. A reader looking at these numbers should understand that the school’s academic performance, in its final years of operation, was well below typical levels for the state.
The civil rights and outcomes data is absent, as are any discipline, staffing, or attendance records. There is no graduation rate because the school’s grade span ended at what appears to be eighth grade, so that measure does not apply. The school was not a charter or a magnet. Its Title I status is not recorded.
The school sat in St. Joseph, a mid-sized Missouri River city with an industrial economy. The city hosts major employers in food processing, animal health research, and heavy equipment manufacturing, and it is home to Missouri Western State University. The local housing market, based on the ZIP code that covers the school’s address, shows home values that are below both the state and national benchmarks. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate at the time of this writing is near the national average, and the national unemployment rate is moderate. A family looking at this neighborhood for its affordability would find it cheaper than much of the rest of Missouri.
The parent district, St. Joseph School District, passed a bond issue and operating levy in 2020 and is in the middle of a district-wide grade reconfiguration that will take effect in the 2026-27 school year, converting a high school into a middle school and a middle school into an elementary school. That change is a sign of a district actively reshaping its footprint, likely responding to enrollment shifts.
None of that matters for Mark Twain Elementary itself. The school is closed. If you found this page while researching schools in St. Joseph, the takeaway is straightforward: this school does not operate. You will need to look at the other elementary and middle schools in the district to find an option for your child. The district does have a range of other schools still open, and given the ongoing reconfiguration, it is worth contacting the St. Joseph School District directly to understand current attendance zones and which buildings serve which grade levels.
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