The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Durant Intermediate Es
Durant Intermediate ES serves exactly two grades, fifth and sixth, as the bridge between elementary and middle school for the Durant Independent School District in Bryan County, Oklahoma. The school sits in a city that is both the county seat and the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical Area, a place that blends small-town residential life with a substantial university presence at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation. Durant is growing at a notable pace, with new manufacturing and distribution investments arriving in recent years, which means the housing market in the area is responding to that demand. Home values in the zip codes serving the school are close to the state average, and rents have been rising, though buying a home remains more expensive than renting on a monthly basis at current interest rates, which is a common dynamic in many Oklahoma communities right now.
The school itself is a public, non-charter school of moderate size for a two-grade intermediate building. Its student body is diverse, with a significant share of students who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, alongside a substantial white population and smaller but present shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. The composition reflects the broader community, where the Choctaw Nation is the largest employer and a major civic anchor.
On state assessments from the most recent testing year, the school's results fall below the levels many families hope to see. In fifth-grade math, roughly a fifth of students scored at the proficient level or above, and in fifth-grade English language arts the share was about a quarter. Fifth-grade science results were similar. Sixth-grade performance was modestly higher, with about a third of students reaching proficiency in both math and English language arts. The proficiency index, which averages performance across all tested subjects and grades, places this school above the midpoint among the districts in Bryan County, but the absolute percentages are low enough that a parent should look into this further with the school. The state changed its cut scores for math and English language arts in this testing year, which makes direct year-over-year comparisons unreliable, so it is not possible to say from this data alone whether these results represent a change or a continuation.
No graduation rate is reported at this school, which is expected because it serves only fifth and sixth grade and does not have a graduating class. The district overall, according to publicly reported information, has seen its graduation rate rise over the last five school years and ranks among the stronger districts in the state for combined math and reading proficiency. The district also received funding through a federal clean school bus rebate program, a concrete investment in daily operations that families may notice.
The school environment data are limited. There are no reported figures on chronic absenteeism, discipline incidents, staffing ratios, or course access. Without those details, a parent cannot evaluate things like class sizes, teacher experience, or how much instructional time students are actually getting. This is a gap worth raising with the school directly, especially for a child transitioning into the upper elementary grades where academic expectations ramp up.
Program offerings are also not reported in the available data. For an intermediate school, the question of whether students have access to electives, music, art, or any advanced coursework in math or reading is an important one, and families will want to ask the school what those options look like for fifth and sixth graders.
Durant Intermediate ES serves a growing city with a stable housing market and a district that has made recent operational investments. The school itself sits in the middle of the pack among its county peers but with a proficiency floor that many families will want to understand better before deciding this is the right fit for their child's academic foundation.
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