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Watkins Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
651st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 900 Missouri Elementary Schools
Better than 28% of Missouri elementary schools
Summary

Watkins Elementary is a public elementary school in Springfield, Missouri, serving 250 students in grades PK-5. It is part of the Springfield R-XII school district, which is ranked 177 out of 367 districts in the state.

Over the past several years, Watkins Elementary has consistently performed below average compared to other Missouri elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school has faced significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, low academic performance on standardized tests, and a high percentage of students from low-income families. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 3rd-grade math proficiency rate was just 12.6%, compared to 35% for the district and 41.4% for the state.

Interestingly, nearby schools in the Springfield R-XII district, such as Bissett, Boyd, Fremont, and Truman Elementary, generally perform better than Watkins Elementary on academic measures, with higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. Truman Elementary, in particular, stands out as a higher-performing school within the district, ranking in the top half of Missouri elementary schools and earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

252
Students ?
12.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,192
Per pupil spending ?
78.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 732 W Talmage
       Springfield, MO  65803-1118

(417) 523-5000

District: Springfield R-Xii


Students who attend Watkins Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Reed Middle
High:    Hillcrest High
Racial breakdown:

White:
57.9%
Hispanic:
17.9%
Two or more races:
11.9%
more
 See top rated Missouri elementary schools

 Compare Watkins Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 10th percentile in 2015 → 28th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 18 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Missouri average (29% vs 42% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Science scores 15 pts below the Missouri average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school29%
District avg39%
Missouri avg42%
651st of 900
Missouri public elementary schools ?
Bottom 28%▲ up 17 pts since 2015
From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 28% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Missouri Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
25th of 33Elementary Schools in the Springfield R-Xii
177th of 367Springfield R-Xii 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMissouri percentileRating
202531.7651 of 90027.7%★☆☆☆☆
202444.8509 of 90643.8%★★☆☆☆
202324.4710 of 89820.9%★☆☆☆☆
202226.7678 of 90825.3%★☆☆☆☆
202116.0757 of 90116.0%★☆☆☆☆
201913.4948 of 10529.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201813.7937 of 104510.3%★☆☆☆☆
201711.1952 of 10327.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201610.4793 of 8658.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201514.8949 of 105810.3%★☆☆☆☆
201416.2974 of 108910.6%★☆☆☆☆
201313.81018 of 11088.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201214.7985 of 10859.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201132.0848 of 108822.1%★☆☆☆☆
201038.8751 of 106629.5%★☆☆☆☆
200940.5715 of 105332.1%★★☆☆☆
200850.3560 of 108448.3%★★☆☆☆
200727.2909 of 108015.8%★☆☆☆☆
200641.7691 of 107435.7%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMissouri percentileRating
202530.7473 of 63825.9%★☆☆☆☆
202471.6108 of 62582.7%★★★★☆
202330.9455 of 61125.5%★☆☆☆☆
202234.7364 of 53231.6%★★☆☆☆
202116.4524 of 5748.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.2830 of 9078.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.8852 of 8873.9%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMissouri percentileRating
202511.6624 of 6666.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202424.6530 of 66820.7%★☆☆☆☆
202311.0632 of 6736.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.7666 of 6913.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20194.5913 of 9170.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20186.7889 of 8981.0%☆☆☆☆☆
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)26th percentile~ school
White (2025)6th percentile-21 vs school
By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics30%-11 vs state
English Language Arts30%-14 vs state
Science27%-15 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Watkins Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 252 students attended Watkins Elementary.

Students at Watkins Elementary are 58% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 10% African American, 1% American Indian.

Students who attend Watkins Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Reed Middle
High : Hillcrest High

Watkins Elementary ranks 651st of 900 Missouri elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.


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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.





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