High Schools in Independence

In the Independence area, the two high-school options are Independence Senior High (grades 9–12, 550 students) and BRIDGES Academy (grades 6–12, 24 students); the most important finding is that neither school reached the state’s All Grades result in ELA, math or science, although results were substantially higher at Independence Senior High.

Independence Senior High led the reported All Grades results, with 40% in ELA, 34% in math and 26% in science; it was 6, 7 and 12 percentage points below the state, respectively. BRIDGES Academy had the lowest results in each subject: 0% in ELA, 0% in math and 6% in science, placing it 46, 41 and 33 points below the state. In the grade-matched 11th-grade science results, Independence Senior High scored 26% and BRIDGES 8%, a 19-point gap. Completion measures also favor Independence Senior High: its graduation rate was 93%, versus 63% at BRIDGES and 90% statewide; dropout rates were 0% at Independence Senior High and 4% at BRIDGES, compared with 1% statewide.

Recent test results at Independence Senior High weakened: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, ELA fell 8 points while the state rose 1 point, and math fell 1 point while the state rose 2 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for the school also moved from the 86th percentile in 2023–24 (46th of 318 schools) to the 43rd percentile in 2025–26 (194th of 340), a 43-point decline in percentile position. Attendance offers a mixed picture: chronic absenteeism was 20% at Independence Senior High and 18% at BRIDGES, both slightly above the state’s 18%; Independence Senior High’s reported student-teacher ratio is 13.2 and its free/reduced-lunch rate is 66%. BRIDGES has no prior-year test results here, and its small enrollment means its results may be sensitive to the number of students tested.