The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wright City Jhs
Wright City Junior High School serves seventh and eighth grade students in the Wright City Public Schools district, within the small rural town of Wright City in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. The school enrolled fewer than a hundred students for the most recent reported school year, placing it among the smaller schools for its grade band in the county. American Indian students make up roughly half the student body, and white students account for most of the remainder, with a very small number of Asian and Black students also represented. The school operates as a traditional public school in a district that does not offer charter options.
State testing results for the most recent year show that a modest share of eighth graders met or exceeded the proficiency standard in math and in English language arts. A larger share of students scored below that threshold. Testing data for seventh graders in both subjects, as well as for science in eighth grade, were suppressed, likely because the tested groups were too small to report publicly. The school's overall proficiency index, which combines the available test results, falls above the midpoint among the districts in McCurtain County but is within the lower half of the countywide range. Parents interpreting these results should keep in mind that the school serves only two grade levels and that the small number of students makes year-to-year scores highly sensitive to any change in the student group.
The town of Wright City itself traces its roots to the Choctaw Lumber Company, which established a company town around a sawmill and processing plant. For decades, timber and lumber products drove the local economy. The Weyerhaeuser plant, which had been the town’s dominant employer since the mid-twentieth century, closed permanently several years ago, eliminating a large number of jobs and sending the town into a long period of population decline. The community has seen its population drop steadily over recent decades. Today Wright City is a small residential settlement along the Little River in western McCurtain County. Housing values in the area are well below the state average, and the local housing market has experienced a modest year-over-year decrease, consistent with the town’s contraction.
The school operates within a district where publicly reported information on recent changes or strategic initiatives was limited, so it is not clear whether new programs or facility improvements are underway. What is clear is that Wright City Junior High exists in a community deeply affected by the loss of its primary industry and a shrinking tax base. For a family considering this school, the main considerations are the small scale of the student body, the predominately American Indian and white student composition, the rural and economically depressed context of the town, and the test performance, which falls short of state averages in the grades for which results are available. A parent may want to ask the school directly about academic supports, elective offerings, and how the junior high prepares students for the transition to high school, since these details were not evident from the data reviewed.
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