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Discovery Middle School

Q: Is Discovery Middle School a good school?

Discovery Middle School ranks 44 th of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 5 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

44^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 438 Missouri Middle Schools

Better than 90% of Missouri middle schools

Summary

Discovery Middle School is a public middle school located in Liberty, Missouri, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 663 students. The school is part of the Liberty 53 school district, which is ranked 70 out of 367 districts in Missouri and is rated 4 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Discovery Middle School consistently ranks among the top middle schools in Missouri, with a statewide ranking between 7 and 96 over the past 10 years. The school's performance on state assessments (MAP) is significantly higher than the Liberty 53 district and the state of Missouri averages across multiple subjects and grade levels. In 2024-2025, Discovery Middle School's proficiency rates in Mathematics, Science, and English Language Arts were 42.3%, 50.2%, and 66.9% respectively, outperforming the district and state by a wide margin. The school's Algebra I proficiency rate for the end-of-course exam was an impressive 88.5% in 2024-2025, far exceeding the district and state averages.

Discovery Middle School has a strong performance among its student subgroups, particularly in the areas of Gifted and Talented students, where the school ranked 2nd out of 44 Missouri middle schools in 2021-2022. The school also performs well for its African American and Hispanic student populations, ranking 42nd and 33rd out of Missouri middle schools in 2023-2024 and 2021-2022, respectively. However, the school's performance for Special Education and Low Socioeconomic Status students is relatively lower, ranking 159th and 289th out of Missouri middle schools in 2022-2023, respectively. Discovery Middle School's chronic absenteeism rate has seen a steady decline, from 20.8% in 2022-2023 to 15.6% in 2023-2024, which is lower than the rates of the nearby Heritage Middle School and Liberty Middle School.

678

Students ?

13.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,758

Per pupil spending ?

18.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

800 Midjay Drive
Liberty, MO 64068-3162

(816) 736-7300

District: Liberty 53

Students who attend Discovery Middle School usually attend:

High:

Liberty High

Feeder schools for Discovery Middle School:

Elementary:	Liberty Oaks Elementary
	Shoal Creek Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

67.7%

Hispanic:

9.3%

Two or more races:

8.6%

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Compare Discovery Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 81st percentile in 2022 → 90th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Missouri average (60% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 10% of Missouri middle schools

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 90th (2025) from a 81st-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school60%

District avg49%

Missouri avg41%

44^th of 438

Missouri public middle schools ?

Top 10%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Missouri Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 4Middle Schools in the Liberty 53

70^th of 367Liberty 53 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	86.7	44 of 438	90.0%	★★★★★
2024	84.1	48 of 451	89.4%	★★★★☆
2023	74.8	85 of 459	81.5%	★★★★☆
2022	75.6	85 of 459	81.5%	★★★★☆
2021	83.4	49 of 454	89.2%	★★★★☆
2019	87.1	36 of 587	93.9%	★★★★★
2018	85.8	41 of 552	92.6%	★★★★★
2017	92.3	12 of 568	97.9%	★★★★★
2016	94.9	7 of 435	98.4%	★★★★★
2015	90.6	24 of 585	95.9%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2024	60.6	42 of 144	70.8%	★★★★☆
2019	76.1	22 of 149	85.2%	★★★★☆
2018	62.6	40 of 129	69.0%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2019	62.4	21 of 38	44.7%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2022	52.7	79 of 187	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.4	95 of 195	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	69.6	43 of 204	78.9%	★★★★☆
2018	75.9	23 of 162	85.8%	★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2023	74.2	9 of 48	81.3%	★★★★☆
2022	82.7	2 of 44	95.5%	★★★★★
2019	75.6	5 of 121	95.9%	★★★★★
2018	74.2	9 of 104	91.3%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2022	48.1	33 of 78	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	79.2	14 of 130	89.2%	★★★★☆
2018	58.4	35 of 96	63.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	59.6	127 of 369	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.8	220 of 378	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.7	289 of 382	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.6	293 of 365	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.7	296 of 371	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	62.0	135 of 482	72.0%	★★★★☆
2018	48.0	203 of 422	51.9%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2019	59.7	34 of 98	65.3%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	47.5	84 of 196	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	58.6	59 of 194	69.6%	★★★★☆
2023	26.1	159 of 192	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	86.1	39 of 358	89.1%	★★★★☆
2024	85.6	39 of 379	89.7%	★★★★☆
2023	74.9	68 of 385	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	74.2	72 of 381	81.1%	★★★★☆
2021	81.4	45 of 376	88.0%	★★★★☆
2019	86.9	37 of 527	93.0%	★★★★★
2018	87.1	32 of 479	93.3%	★★★★★

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)

White (2025)89th percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2023)81st percentile~ school

African American (2024)71st percentile-19 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)66th percentile-24 vs school

Multi-racial (2019)65th percentile-29 vs school

Disabled (2022)58th percentile-24 vs school

Hispanic (2022)58th percentile-24 vs school

Special Education (2025)57th percentile-33 vs school

Asian (2019)45th percentile-49 vs school

By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?

Algebra I89%+43 vs state

English Language Arts60%+20 vs state

Mathematics57%+16 vs state

Science50%+11 vs state

★

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Schools Near Discovery Middle School

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 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 8th 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
Discovery Middle School	Public	6-8	800 Midjay Drive	Liberty	64068	Clay County	Liberty 53	No	No	No	No	(816) 736-7300	678	49	13.9	18.3%	459 (67.7%)	55 (8.1%)	63 (9.3%)	41 (6.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	58 (8.6%)	86.7	44^th of 438 public middle schools	90.0%		84.1	48^th of 451 public middle schools	89.4%	4	63.0	61.0	42.3	50.2	56.9	57.7	66.9	88.5	$14,758	$487	$14,271
South Valley Middle	Public	6-8	1000 Midjay Dr	Liberty	64068	Clay County	Liberty 53	No	No	No	No	(816) 736-7180	809	57	14.2	19.7%	595 (73.5%)	57 (7.0%)	77 (9.5%)	19 (2.3%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	57 (7.0%)	72.6	95^th of 438 public middle schools	78.3%		74	90^th of 451 public middle schools	80.0%	5	57.4	48.3	28.1	49.5	47.1	48.1	51.7	85.9	$14,712	$362	$14,350
Liberty Middle School	Public	6-8	1500 S Withers	Liberty	64068	Clay County	Liberty 53	No	No	No	No	(816) 736-5410	609	50	12.0	35.5%	456 (74.9%)	43 (7.1%)	51 (8.4%)	13 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	44 (7.2%)	59.7	163^rd of 438 public middle schools	62.8%		57.7	185^th of 451 public middle schools	59.0%	22	46.4	35.2	22.7	47.1	44.7	43.5	45.7		$16,031	$921	$15,110
Heritage Middle School	Public	6-8	600 W Kansas	Liberty	64068	Clay County	Liberty 53	No	No	No	No	(816) 736-5380	757	52	14.4	24.6%	572 (75.6%)	36 (4.8%)	64 (8.5%)	14 (1.8%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (8.9%)	72.6	96^th of 438 public middle schools	78.1%		74.4	89^th of 451 public middle schools	80.3%	7	54.8	45.1	39.7	44.1	48.0	53.0	49.0	89.4	$15,049	$161	$14,889
Maple Park Middle	Public	7-8	5300 N Bennington	Kansas City	64119	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5280	585	55	10.6	63.4%	271 (46.3%)	127 (21.7%)	103 (17.6%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	69 (11.8%)	44.7	242^nd of 438 public middle schools	44.7%		36.6	294^th of 451 public middle schools	34.8%	52		39.9	26.6	28.9		44.0	30.6		$16,537	$513	$16,023
Gateway 6th Grade Center	Public	6	9201 N Indiana Ave	Kansas City	64156	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5360	882	59	14.9	36.1%	485 (55.0%)	121 (13.7%)	142 (16.1%)	28 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.0%)	97 (11.0%)								(n/a)	65.5				53.9				$14,167	$519	$13,649
Antioch Middle	Public	7-8	2100 NE 65th St	Gladstone	64118	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5260	886	59	14.9	40.1%	474 (53.5%)	127 (14.3%)	142 (16.0%)	23 (2.6%)	1 (0.1%)	20 (2.3%)	99 (11.2%)	69.8	108^th of 438 public middle schools	75.3%		68.6	118^th of 451 public middle schools	73.8%	10		46.0	38.7	43.6		46.8	51.6	95.2	$14,368	$517	$13,850
Eastgate 6th Grade Center	Public	6	4700 NE Parvin Rd	Kansas City	64117	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5270	629	50	12.6	63.4%	241 (38.3%)	147 (23.4%)	117 (18.6%)	26 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.1%)	84 (13.4%)								(n/a)	38.2				35.0				$14,622	$518	$14,104
Northgate Middle	Public	7-8	2117 NE 48th St	Kansas City	64118	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5300	689	54	12.6	66.6%	228 (33.1%)	174 (25.3%)	122 (17.7%)	51 (7.4%)	1 (0.1%)	17 (2.5%)	96 (13.9%)	41.5	262^nd of 438 public middle schools	40.2%		35.7	297^th of 451 public middle schools	34.1%	35		36.7	19.6	29.2		41.5	34.5	90.5	$15,409	$520	$14,889
Frontier School Of Innovation-M	Public, Charter	6-8	1575 Universal Dr.	Kansas City	64120	Jackson County	Frontier Schools	Yes	No	No	Yes	(816) 822-1331	307	35	8.7	82.1%	22 (7.2%)	39 (12.7%)	235 (76.5%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.6%)	64.3	143^rd of 438 public middle schools	67.4%		53.7	208^th of 451 public middle schools	53.9%	65	60.8	63.0	64.2	37.7	24.6	36.8	40.1		$22,984	$1,408	$21,575

Frequently Asked Questions about Discovery Middle School

What district is Discovery Middle School in?

Liberty 53

Is Discovery Middle School a good school?

Discovery Middle School ranks 44^th of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 5 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Discovery Middle School?

Students at Discovery Middle School are 68% White, 9% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 8% African American, 6% Asian.

How many students attend Discovery Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 678 students attended Discovery Middle School.

What high school do graduates of Discovery Middle School attend?

Students who attend Discovery Middle School usually go on to attend Liberty High

Rate Discovery Middle School!

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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.