The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Willard Middle
Willard Middle serves just two grade levels, seventh and eighth, as the regular public school within the Willard R-II district. With an enrollment that makes it a midsize middle school, it draws a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a share that is moderate for the area and suggests a mix of family incomes. The school sits in a town that is part of Greene County, near Springfield, though publicly available detail about Willard’s downtown or recent community character was limited in our research. The district itself had no major recent changes that surfaced in reporting.
On the Missouri Assessment Program, math proficiency holds at roughly half of students in both seventh and eighth grades. That is a solid result for a middle school, but it sits below the midpoint when compared across the districts within Greene County. English language arts performance is lower: about two out of five students reach the proficient or above threshold in each grade. Science, tested only in eighth grade, lands at a similar level. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index places it in the lower half of the county’s districts. A parent looking at these results will see a school where math is the relative strength and literacy is an area that merits closer attention. Because this is a middle school without high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and we looked for data on chronic absenteeism and discipline but did not find it for this profile.
The student body is sizable enough to offer a typical range of middle school experiences, though we do not have a detailed list of course offerings or extracurricular programs. That kind of programming detail is often the next thing a family visiting the school would want to ask about directly. The housing context around Willard shows home values that are somewhat above the Missouri state median but below the national median, and rents that consume a manageable share of a typical household income. That pattern suggests a moderately priced market relative to the broader country, which may matter for families relocating into the area.
Willard Middle is a straightforward option for families in the district looking for the standard seventh- and eighth-grade pathway before high school. Its academic profile is mixed: math performance is a clear bright spot, while English and science show room for improvement relative to county peers. A parent concerned about literacy support would want to look into what targeted interventions or instructional approaches the school uses. The school does not carry any special designation such as magnet or Title I status in the data we have, and it operates as a regular school with no charter conversion. What is available paints a picture of a school that serves a largely white, middle-income community and posts results that fall on the lower side of the middle band for its county. Families comparing middle schools within Greene County will want to weigh the specific programming and school culture that numbers alone cannot convey, and that will require a direct conversation with the school itself.
See more original research from School Decision →