Charleston Middle School

Charleston Middle School is a public middle school in Charleston, Missouri, serving grades 4-6 with a total enrollment of 159 students. The school is part of the Charleston R-I school district. Unfortunately, Charleston Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Missouri middle schools over the past several years, with a ranking between 402-588 out of the state's middle schools and a rating of 0-1 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger.

One of the key challenges facing Charleston Middle School is its high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.9% to 27.9% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school's academic performance, as measured by the percentage of students proficient or better on the MAP assessments, is significantly below the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's proficiency rates in Mathematics and English Language Arts are projected to be around 8-27%, compared to the state averages of 38-45%. This is likely due in part to the school's high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 86.9% to 98.11% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch over the past few years.

When comparing Charleston Middle School to the nearby middle schools in the Sikeston and Scott County districts, it becomes clear that Charleston Middle School is performing significantly worse academically. The nearby schools have higher proficiency rates, lower chronic absenteeism, and generally higher rankings from SchoolDigger. Despite the relatively high spending per student at Charleston Middle School, ranging from $9,920 to $12,511 per student over the past few years, the school has not shown significant improvement in its academic performance or rankings over the past several years, suggesting a need for a comprehensive review and implementation of targeted interventions to improve student outcomes.