Summary
Southwest Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 5-8 in the Southwest R-V School District in Washburn, Missouri, with a total enrollment of 202 students. While the school has seen some areas of improvement, it faces several challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, below-average academic performance, and a declining statewide ranking.
One area of concern is the school's chronic absenteeism rates, which have ranged from 0.0% to 18.9% in recent years. This can negatively impact student learning and academic performance. Academically, Southwest Middle's proficiency rates on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests are generally below the state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 5th grade math proficiency rate was 21.2%, compared to the state average of 38.2%. However, the school has seen some improvement in the performance of its low socioeconomic status students, with their ranking reaching the top third of Missouri middle schools in 2022-2023.
When compared to the nearby Cassville Middle school, which is part of the Cassville R-IV School District, Southwest Middle has consistently underperformed on various academic measures, such as math and English language arts proficiency rates. Cassville Middle also has a higher district ranking and a higher student-teacher ratio, which may contribute to its stronger academic performance. Despite these challenges, Southwest Middle has increased its spending per student over the years, from $7,073 in 2018-2019 to $8,447 in 2021-2022, suggesting the school is investing more resources in its students.
Thank you for your feedback!