The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Kingston Middle
Kingston Middle sits in Cadet, an unincorporated rural community in eastern Washington County with no municipal government and no downtown. The area was shaped by lead and barite mining, which has ended, and the local economy now rests on agriculture and light industry. Missouri Route 47 runs through Cadet; the post office along that highway is the primary civic landmark. Housing values in the area fall below the national median, and the typical monthly mortgage payment here is modest relative to national averages, consistent with a rural area that is not experiencing rapid development or new construction. The community is stable but sparse, with scattered residences and farmland rather than a walkable village center.
The school itself is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight as part of the Kingston K-14 district. Enrollment is small. The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Data on the share of students with disabilities or English learner status was not available.
On state assessments, results are mixed and show a clear pattern of decline as students move through the grades. In sixth-grade math, a moderate share of students scored proficient or above. By seventh and eighth grade, that share dropped noticeably and was lower than the sixth-grade rate. In English language arts, sixth graders again showed a moderate proficiency rate, but seventh-grade results were substantially lower, and eighth-grade results in ELA were suppressed for reporting, meaning the state did not publish a figure for that group. In eighth-grade science, about a third of students scored proficient or above. When all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single index of academic performance, the school sits above the midpoint among the four districts in Washington County. That comparison set is small, so the difference between the middle and the top of the cohort is narrow.
No four-year graduation rate applies to Kingston Middle because it serves only grades six through eight. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. Information on course access, staffing ratios, and discipline was also absent from the data we reviewed. The district appears to have undergone no recent significant changes such as property-tax shifts, curriculum overhauls, or facility referendums that were publicly reported.
For a family considering this school, the main takeaway is that Kingston Middle operates in a high-poverty, rural setting with a small enrollment and a predominantly white student body. Academic proficiency is strongest in the earliest middle-school grade and weakens by eighth grade, a pattern a parent may want to explore further with the school. The housing market in the area is affordable relative to the country as a whole, and the community is quiet and stable with little growth pressure.
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