The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 41%.
Original Research by School Decision on Stewartsville High
Stewartsville High is the sole secondary school in the Stewartsville C-2 district, serving grades seven through twelve from a shared campus on Buchanan Street in this small rural town in DeKalb County. The school is small, with an enrollment that is overwhelmingly white. Just over a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a modest share that reflects the town’s low cost of living and a working-class economic base.
State testing data for this school is thin. Missouri’s MAP results were suppressed for most grade-level and subject combinations, likely because the tested groups were too small to report publicly without risking individual student identification. The one score that was reported shows that in seventh-grade English language arts, just over two in five students scored at or above proficient. No math, science, or eighth-grade ELA results cleared the suppression threshold. A parent looking for a clear picture of academic performance across grades will find the available data fragmentary. The proficiency index the state uses to compare schools, which averages across all reported results, places Stewartsville High in the top quarter among the four districts in DeKalb County, but the index rests on that single seventh-grade ELA figure, so the ranking is far narrower than it sounds.
Because the school serves grades seven through twelve but does not have a reported graduation rate in this data, that measure is simply absent rather than applicable. Chronic absenteeism data is also missing. A parent interested in how well the school supports students through to completion would have to ask the school directly.
The community context is one of modest recent shifts. Stewartsville lost population over several decades but shows signs of a small uptick in the last few years. Home values have risen, and median household income has climbed, though the town remains inexpensive relative to national benchmarks. The town has no major employers identified publicly; residents commute to nearby St. Joseph or further afield. The school campus sits within the town’s compact residential and civic core, with City Hall and the post office on Main Street. Street life is minimal and car dependence is the norm.
The district itself reported no recent changes of lasting impact in a search of publicly available information, which is common for a small rural system that operates steadily without headline initiatives. The absence suggests stability rather than flux, but a parent may want to check directly with the district office for any updates on programming, staffing, or facility plans.
Stewartsville High is a fitting option for a family that wants a small, locally grounded school in a low-cost rural setting and is comfortable with the limited academic data the state is able to publish for a school of this size. The thin testing record means that parents accustomed to comparing schools on proficiency rates will find little to work with here. The school’s very small enrollment by grade level, especially in the upper high school years, means students experience an intimate peer environment where every teacher and student knows one another. That can be a draw for some families and a limitation for those seeking a broader range of course offerings. There is no program data in this profile—no AP, dual-credit, or career-tech listings—so a family should ask the school directly what pathways are available for college preparation or vocational training. For a family already living in or moving to Stewartsville, this is the only public secondary option, and its character is defined by its small size, rural setting, and the practical realities that come with both.
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