Schools · Independence
Independence, MO schools
Independence’s public schools score well below Missouri’s averages: 38% of students are proficient in reading against 45.3% statewide, and 91% of high schoolers graduate on time against 90.6%. Kids attend one of 21 schools through grade 12, then one of 4 high schools and one of 4 high schools.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
C+
Independence’s School Grade: C+
The public schools Independence’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 62% of Missouri’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
CTest scoresCGraduation
Missouri school districts we grade (538)Better than 38%
Lower resultsHigher results
Missouri towns with similar household incomes (626)Better than 29%
High confidence. Built on 9,718 tested students and a graduating class of 960; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Missouri’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Missouri only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Missouri with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Independence kids go to school
Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, Independence 30)38%
State average 45.3%
Reading (Fort Osage R-I)39%
State average 45.3%
Math (grades PK–12, Independence 30)26%
State average 35.3%
Math (Fort Osage R-I)28%
State average 35.3%
Graduation · class of 2020
91% graduate on time
Graduation rate
91%
MO: 90.6%
Graduating class
960
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
Two districts serve Independence
Independence 30 School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 31 schools · 14,272 students
$12,949 per studentMO $14,569CFort Osage R-I School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 11 schools · 4,718 students
$13,905 per studentMO $14,569B-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 38 schools in Independence
Showing 1–30 of 38 schools
Sycamore Hills Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 574 students
BPublicSunny Pointe Elem.Elementary · Grades K–5 · 506 students
APublicWilliam Yates Elem.Elementary · Grades K–5 · 463 students
APublicWilliam Southern Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 458 students
CPublicKorte Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 444 students
C-PublicGlendale Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 417 students
BPublicThomas Hart Benton Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 401 students
CPublicOtt Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 384 students
B-PublicIndian Trails Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–4 · 365 students
B-PublicSanta Fe Trail Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 364 students
BPublicBlackburn Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 363 students
C+PublicCassell Park ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 362 students
CPublicJohn W. Luff Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 362 students
A-PublicThree Trails Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 328 students
CPublicFairmount Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 313 students
CPublicCler-Mont Elem.Elementary · Grades K–4 · 298 students
CPublicRandall Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 284 students
C-PublicSpring Branch Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 278 students
C+PublicLittle Blue ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 263 students
BPublicMill Creek Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 250 students
BPublicProcter Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 221 students
CPublicBryant Elem.Elementary · Grades PK–5 · 193 students
B+PublicNativity of Mary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 158 students
PrivateSunrise Montessori Academy of Independence LLC.Elementary · Grades PK–K · 113 students
PrivatePaul Kinder Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 919 students
B+PublicClifford H. Nowlin MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 902 students
DPublicBridger MiddleMiddle · Grades 6 · 744 students
C+PublicPioneer Ridge MiddleMiddle · Grades 7–8 · 731 students
CPublicBingham MiddleMiddle · Grades 7–8 · 730 students
C-PublicTruman HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,720 students
C-PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.