Lakeland R-III

The Lakeland R-III school district in Missouri consists of two schools: Lakeland Elementary (grades PK-6) and Lakeland High (grades 7-12). Both schools are located in the same facility and serve a predominantly white student population, with a significant percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. However, the academic performance of these schools is a concern, as their proficiency rates in core subjects are significantly lower than the state averages.

Lakeland Elementary and Lakeland High have consistently ranked in the bottom half of Missouri schools, with Lakeland High's ranking dropping from 212 out of 460 in 2018-2019 to 268 out of 352 in 2022-2023. The schools' proficiency rates in MAP Mathematics and English Language Arts (Lakeland Elementary) and MAP Mathematics and Science (Lakeland High) range from 12.5% to 32.2% proficient, compared to the state averages of 30% to 44.1%. This suggests that the Lakeland R-III district is struggling to provide quality education to its students, despite spending around $10,000 per student.

The high free and reduced lunch rates at both schools, ranging from 53.4% to 66.22%, indicate that the student population faces significant socioeconomic challenges, which can impact academic achievement. Despite these challenges, the data does not show any significant improvement in the schools' performance over the past few years, suggesting that the district needs to address these issues to better support the success of its students.