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Holden Middle

Q: Is Holden Middle a good school?

Holden Middle ranks 216 th of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

216^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 438 Missouri Middle Schools

Better than 51% of Missouri middle schools

Summary

Holden Middle is a public middle school in Holden, Missouri, serving 280 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Holden R-III School District, which is ranked 215 out of 367 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Holden Middle faces several challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.2% to 26.8% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average and nearby schools like Harrisonville Middle (23.7%) and Pleasant Hill Intermediate (17.9%). The school's test scores in Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) are generally below the state averages, with some exceptions, and its spending per student has increased from $9,808 in 2019-2020 to $11,498 in 2021-2022, which is higher than nearby schools like Leeton Middle ($9,511) and Pleasant Hill Intermediate ($9,645).

Holden Middle's performance has declined over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 177 out of 459 Missouri middle schools in 2021-2022 to 216 out of 438 in 2024-2025. The school's performance for specific student subgroups, such as White students and Low Socioeconomic Status students, has also declined, with their rankings dropping from the top half of Missouri middle schools to the bottom half. Compared to nearby schools like Pleasant Hill Middle and Warrensburg Middle, Holden Middle's performance is generally lower, with higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and better statewide rankings.

301

Students ?

13.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,297

Per pupil spending ?

46.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

301 Eagle Dr
Holden, MO 64040-1696

(816) 732-4125

District: Holden R-III

Students who attend Holden Middle usually attend:

High:

Holden High

Feeder schools for Holden Middle:

Elementary:

Holden Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

89.0%

Hispanic:

6.0%

Two or more races:

2.0%

See top rated Missouri middle schools

Compare Holden Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 59th percentile in 2015 → 51st in 2025

Strengths

✓Above the Missouri median (51st percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 8 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school37%

District avg37%

Missouri avg40%

216^th of 438

Missouri public middle schools ?

Top 49%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From top 41% (2015) to top 49% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Missouri Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

215^th of 367Holden R-III 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	48.5	216 of 438	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.6	271 of 451	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	56.6	190 of 459	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.1	177 of 459	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.4	234 of 454	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	24.2	483 of 587	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.9	343 of 552	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	43.7	338 of 568	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	53.9	204 of 435	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2015	55.9	240 of 585	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	51.9	320 of 633	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2013	47.2	375 of 649	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	50.5	334 of 623	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	46.2	380 of 625	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2010	53.6	321 of 614	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	43.5	401 of 601	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	59.1	228 of 624	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2007	51.8	316 of 624	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2006	57.9	211 of 619	65.9%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2019	31.5	141 of 204	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.5	126 of 162	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	44.3	205 of 369	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.4	195 of 378	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	55.2	148 of 382	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.2	129 of 365	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	43.8	212 of 371	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.8	433 of 482	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.1	387 of 422	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	37.9	224 of 358	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.4	291 of 379	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	50.2	183 of 385	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.4	190 of 381	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	38.5	236 of 376	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.9	483 of 527	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	32.1	342 of 479	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)44th percentile-6 vs school

White (2025)37th percentile-13 vs school

Disabled (2019)31st percentile+13 vs school

By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts37%-3 vs state

Mathematics37%-4 vs state

Science34%-5 vs state

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Friday, March 16, 2018

After being bullied by both students and teachers...TEACHERS...my 13-year-old son developed stomach ulcers from the hostile learning environment. He is now homeschooled and is excelling in areas he’d given up on before.That being said, he was passing Language Arts with a B, and I can say that his writing skills are atrocious!! I cannot believe what they are letting slide at this school! He can’t write cursive, use proper forms of their, there, or they’re (and others like this), has little idea how to properly use commas, adjectives or adverbs, is grammatically inept and can barely spell words that I KNOW he used to know in elementary school (before we moved here). I’m not surprised at the ratings this school district has earned, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they end up losing state accreditation in the long run. Unbelievable! Close Quote

Schools Near Holden Middle

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)				MAP Algebra I (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 5th Grade	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 5th Grade	MAP Science 8th 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	MAP Algebra I End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Holden Middle	Public	6-8	301 Eagle Dr	Holden	64040	Johnson County	Holden R-III	No	No	No	No	(816) 732-4125	301	22	13.9	46.5%	268 (89.0%)	5 (1.7%)	18 (6.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	48.5	216^th of 438 public middle schools	50.7%		40.6	271^st of 451 public middle schools	39.9%	55		46.3	48.8	13.2		34.5		41.1	36.6	33.6		$12,297	$821	$11,476
Sherwood Middle	Public	6-8	33300 S Sherwood Dr	Creighton	64739	Cass County	Sherwood Cass R-VIII	No	No	No	No	(660) 499-2239	176	12	14.1	42.6%	161 (91.5%)	1 (0.6%)	6 (3.4%)	2 (1.1%)	4 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	13.9	392^nd of 438 public middle schools	10.5%		21.5	364^th of 451 public middle schools	19.3%	28		19.5	22.0	7.1		13.8		20.8	23.8	13.8		$10,887	$318	$10,570
Warrensburg Middle	Public	6-8	640 E Gay St	Warrensburg	64093	Johnson County	Warrensburg R-VI	No	No	No	No	(660) 747-5612	779	60	13.0	41.3%	574 (73.7%)	44 (5.6%)	49 (6.3%)	14 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.7%)	77 (9.9%)	40.4	273^rd of 438 public middle schools	37.7%		42.1	260^th of 451 public middle schools	42.4%	13		36.5	31.6	24.3		34.5		33.7	38.0	29.2	83.5	$11,829	$338	$11,491
Pleasant Hill Middle	Public	7-8	1301 Myrtle	Pleasant Hill	64080	Cass County	Pleasant Hill R-III	No	No	No	No	(816) 540-2149	328	27	12.1	18.0%	280 (85.4%)	3 (0.9%)	23 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (5.8%)	52.9	202^nd of 438 public middle schools	53.9%		78.4	74^th of 451 public middle schools	83.6%	128			36.8	17.5		46.1			37.4	45.5	78.3	$13,013	$182	$12,830
Pleasant Hill Intermediate	Public	5-6	1204 E 163rd St	Pleasant Hill	64080	Cass County	Pleasant Hill R-III	No	No	No	No	(816) 540-3156	320	23	14.0	22.8%	274 (85.6%)	5 (1.6%)	21 (6.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.3%)								(n/a)	28.2	44.8			40.7		41.3	40.1				$12,362	$541	$11,821
Leeton Middle	Public	6-8	500 N Main	Leeton	64761	Johnson County	Leeton R-X	No	No	No	No	(660) 653-4314	52	6	8.4	53.8%	50 (96.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)		37.6						25.1				$13,209	$931	$12,278
Harrisonville Middle	Public	6-8	601 S Highland	Harrisonville	64701	Cass County	Harrisonville R-Ix	No	No	No	No	(816) 380-7654	502	41	12.3	38.0%	435 (86.7%)	7 (1.4%)	32 (6.4%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.8%)	38.2	289^th of 438 public middle schools	34.0%		51.9	217^th of 451 public middle schools	51.9%	72		44.1	47.3	16.0		31.3		24.2	27.5	33.1	74.9	$12,008	$474	$11,533

Frequently Asked Questions about Holden Middle

What high school do graduates of Holden Middle attend?

Students who attend Holden Middle usually go on to attend Holden High

How many students attend Holden Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 301 students attended Holden Middle.

What district is Holden Middle in?

Holden R-III

Is Holden Middle a good school?

Holden Middle ranks 216^th of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Holden Middle?

Students at Holden Middle are 89% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 2% African American.

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MOMissouri Middle School Rankings

MOMissouri District Rankings

Schools in Holden, MO

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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.