The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Science. The lowest is 47% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Pershing Middle
Pershing Middle sits within the Springfield R-XII district and serves grades six through eight on the city’s southeast side. The student body is predominantly white and includes a meaningful share of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is moderate, a level that reflects the mixed-income character of the surrounding part of Springfield rather than concentrated poverty.
State assessment results are available for all three grade levels in both math and English language arts, as well as for eighth-grade science. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises from sixth to seventh grade and then dips slightly in eighth grade. The overall pattern shows that roughly half or just under half of students meet the state’s proficient benchmark, a result that sits below the midpoint among districts in Greene County. English language arts results follow a similar shape, with proficiency climbing each year from sixth through eighth grade, where it reaches a little over half of test takers. Science, tested only in eighth grade, shows a similar rate, again just over half. The proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places Pershing below the midpoint relative to other Greene County middle schools. Tested counts are reported at each grade level, which provides a clean picture of how the school is performing, but no chronic absenteeism data appear in the record, so patterns in daily attendance for this building are not visible here.
The school sits in a mid-sized regional hub. Springfield functions as a center for healthcare, retail, distribution, and manufacturing, with major employers including CoxHealth, Mercy, Bass Pro Shops, and O’Reilly Auto Parts. Housing values in the area are close to the state median, and rents have risen at a moderate clip. The mortgage rate environment is typical of the broader national picture. The city’s population growth has been modest, and the built environment around Pershing is largely residential and commercial, with a mix of post-war subdivisions and strip development along arterial roads. Walkability and street life are more concentrated downtown, which is not within immediate walking distance of the school.
Two district-level changes affect what a family experiences at Pershing. Voters approved a large bond issue in 2023 that funds facility improvements across the district, including HVAC and safety upgrades, without raising the property tax rate. That work is ongoing and touches the physical environment of the building. More directly relevant to the daily academic experience, Springfield Public Schools launched a middle school redesign initiative starting in the 2023-2024 school year. The restructuring changed bell schedules, expanded elective offerings, and adjusted teaming models across all middle schools in the district. A family enrolling now will encounter a system that is relatively new and still settling.
The data on programs is not included here, so it is not possible to say how Pershing’s elective or extracurricular menu compares to other middle schools in the region. The absence of information on course access, staffing ratios, or special education and English learner enrollment means those dimensions of the school are unknown based on what is available. A parent may want to ask directly about the range of exploratory and elective courses available, particularly given the recent district-wide redesign. The school is a regular public school, not a magnet or charter, so its composition and programming are shaped by the attendance boundary it serves rather than by a specialized mission.
For a family considering this school, the evidence describes a building where a bit under half of students are meeting state learning targets, placing it on the lower end of the middle school proficiency range within Greene County. The district has invested in facility improvements and has restructured middle school operations, but the impact of that redesign on academic outcomes is still emerging. The surrounding community offers stable housing costs and a diversified regional economy, but the school’s performance profile suggests that not all students are reaching the proficient level, particularly in math and early middle school English language arts. A family looking for a school where proficiency rates consistently exceed the midpoint among local districts may find Pershing falls short of that expectation.
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