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Central Elementary

Q: Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks 325 th of 900 Missouri elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 3-5

325^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 900 Missouri Elementary Schools

Better than 64% of Missouri elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary is a public elementary school located in Dexter, Missouri, serving grades 3-5 with a total enrollment of 461 students. It is part of the Dexter R-Xi school district, which is ranked 74 out of 367 districts in Missouri and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary consistently performs above the state average in MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) test scores across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 5th-grade students scored 49.9% proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to the state average of 38.2%. The school's performance is particularly strong in Science, with 5th-grade students scoring 52.8% proficient or better in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 42.2%. Central Elementary also excels in serving special education and low socioeconomic status (SES) students, ranking among the top schools in Missouri in these subgroups. However, the school's performance is not as strong as the highly-ranked Richland Elementary, which is in the top 2% of Missouri elementary schools and consistently outperforms Central Elementary in both Mathematics and English Language Arts.

While Central Elementary's chronic absenteeism rates are lower than the state average, ranging from 6.1% to 8.1% over the past few years, the nearby Southwest Elementary and Malden Lower Elementary have even lower rates, indicating a potential area for improvement. Additionally, Central Elementary has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 50.11% to 52.77% over the past few years, suggesting a significant population of students from low-income families.

447

Students ?

11.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,719

Per pupil spending ?

53%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1213 Central Dr
Dexter, MO 63841-1896

(573) 614-1020

District: Dexter R-Xi

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	T. S. Hill Middle
High:	Dexter High

Racial breakdown:

White:

91.7%

Hispanic:

5.1%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Missouri elementary schools

Compare Central Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 79th percentile in 2024 → 64th in 2025

Strengths

✓Above the Missouri median (64th percentile)

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped from its 79th-percentile peak (2024) to 64th (2025)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school47%

District avg47%

Missouri avg42%

325^th of 900

Missouri public elementary schools ?

Top 36%▲ up 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 42% (2015) to top 36% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Missouri Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

74^th of 367Dexter R-Xi among Missouri districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	63.6	325 of 900	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	75.4	194 of 906	78.6%	★★★★☆
2023	66.6	291 of 898	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	68.5	260 of 908	71.4%	★★★★☆
2021	63.1	334 of 901	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	51.6	512 of 1052	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.8	560 of 1045	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2017	49.1	548 of 1032	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	52.1	451 of 865	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	46.6	609 of 1058	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	34.4	802 of 1089	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	54.1	526 of 1108	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2012	47.3	647 of 1085	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	46.0	663 of 1088	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	46.7	621 of 1066	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	54.0	503 of 1053	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2008	56.7	447 of 1084	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2007	47.6	610 of 1080	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	50.7	544 of 1074	49.3%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2022	61.1	32 of 103	68.9%	★★★★☆
2021	31.3	61 of 81	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.1	152 of 302	49.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.4	136 of 251	45.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	72.3	121 of 638	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	81.7	57 of 625	90.9%	★★★★★
2023	73.6	90 of 611	85.3%	★★★★☆
2022	77.6	64 of 532	88.0%	★★★★☆
2021	73.9	84 of 574	85.4%	★★★★☆
2019	55.0	358 of 907	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	37.7	619 of 887	30.2%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	66.1	21 of 97	78.4%	★★★★☆
2024	50.8	41 of 101	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.2	20 of 107	81.3%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	48.0	352 of 666	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.8	231 of 668	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	50.2	323 of 673	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	51.9	315 of 675	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	47.7	350 of 691	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.0	561 of 917	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.9	596 of 898	33.6%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)81st percentile+17 vs school

Special Education (2025)78th percentile+14 vs school

Disabled (2022)69th percentile~ school

White (2025)47th percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?

Science53%+11 vs state

Mathematics48%+7 vs state

English Language Arts44%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Central Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAP Mathematics (2025)					MAP Science (2025)		MAP English Language Arts (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAP Mathematics 5th Grade	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 5th Grade	MAP Science 8th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 5th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Elementary	Public	3-5	1213 Central Dr	Dexter	63841	Stoddard County	Dexter R-Xi	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 614-1020	447	37	11.9	53.0%	410 (91.7%)	3 (0.7%)	23 (5.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	63.6	325^th of 900 public elementary schools	63.9%		75.4	194^th of 906 public elementary schools	78.6%	131	46.9	47.9	49.9			52.8		42.9	42.4	47.7				$10,719	$540	$10,179
Southwest Elementary	Public	K-2	915 W Grant St	Dexter	63841	Stoddard County	Dexter R-Xi	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 614-1015	441	39	11.2	60.3%	398 (90.2%)	3 (0.7%)	17 (3.9%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.1%)								(n/a)														$10,602	$1,043	$9,559
Bloomfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	505 Court St	Bloomfield	63825	Stoddard County	Bloomfield R-XIV	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 568-4562	229	19	11.9	55.9%	218 (95.2%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.2%)	52	436^th of 900 public elementary schools	51.6%		35.2	606^th of 906 public elementary schools	33.1%	170	47.1	31.5						47.1						$10,280	$626	$9,654
Bernie Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	121 S Spiker	Bernie	63822	Stoddard County	Bernie R-Xiii	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 293-5335	283	23	12.1	64.0%	243 (85.9%)	4 (1.4%)	14 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (7.4%)	86.3	108^th of 900 public elementary schools	88.0%		84.7	110^th of 906 public elementary schools	87.9%	2		49.9		79.4		68.1			66.6					$10,282	$1,046	$9,237
Richland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	24456 State Hwy 114	Essex	63846	Stoddard County	Richland R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 283-5310	158	15	10.6	60.1%	141 (89.2%)	4 (2.5%)	7 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.8%)	96.5	17^th of 900 public elementary schools	98.1%					(n/a)		82.5		76.8		71.3			82.5					$12,963	$956	$12,007
Fisk Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	301 McKinley St	Fisk	63940	Butler County	Twin Rivers R-X	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 967-3607	309	28	11.0	71.8%	273 (88.3%)	5 (1.6%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.4%)	18.1	750^th of 900 public elementary schools	16.7%		29.1	663^rd of 906 public elementary schools	26.8%	87			15.3	29.1	25.0		52.6				19.4	10.8	22.3	$11,561	$980	$10,581
Malden Lower Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	601 Burkhart St	Malden	63863	Dunklin County	Malden R-I	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 276-5791	424	35	12.0	100.0%	229 (54.0%)	129 (30.4%)	23 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.7%)	26.1	689^th of 900 public elementary schools	23.4%		26	687^th of 906 public elementary schools	24.2%	2	30.3	27.7	8.1					32.3	27.7	34.9				$13,313	$2,006	$11,306
Puxico Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	481 N Bedford St	Puxico	63960	Stoddard County	Puxico R-VIII	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 222-3542	308	31	9.9	57.8%	299 (97.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	50.7	455^th of 900 public elementary schools	49.4%		46.1	497^th of 906 public elementary schools	45.1%	42	51.7	42.1				44.8		37.4	33.2	36.6				$11,106	$556	$10,550
Risco Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	Hwy 62	Risco	63874	New Madrid County	Risco R-II	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 396-5501	80	11	7.0	66.3%	76 (95.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.5%)								(n/a)									37.6					$17,488	$1,284	$16,204
Bell City Elementary	Public	K-6	25254 Walnut St	Bell City	63735	Stoddard County	Bell City R-II	No	No	No	Yes	(573) 733-4444	105	14	7.7	56.2%	100 (95.2%)	2 (1.9%)	2 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)								(n/a)														$16,537	$461	$16,076

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 447 students attended Central Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : T. S. Hill Middle
High : Dexter High

Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks 325^th of 900 Missouri elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 92% White, 5% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Central Elementary in?

Dexter R-Xi

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.