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Malden, Missouri - 2 schools
An equity score of 75/100 ranks Malden R-I #40 of 432 districts in Missouri (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,912 per pupil, Malden R-I ranks #371 of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending (Missouri districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
879
Total Enrollment
2
Schools
$10,912
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Malden R-I operates 2 public schools serving 879 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Missouri. The school portfolio breaks down into 2 combined schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Dunklin County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,912 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 549 Missouri districts by per-pupil spending. See how Missouri compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 28.1% local, 37.8% state, and 34.2% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 75/100, ranked #40 of 432 in Missouri against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 2 schools offering Advanced Placement (1 AP courses district-wide), a 297.5:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 20.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 57.5% White, 29.1% African American, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Malden Lower Elem., enrolling 424 students (53% of the district's total enrollment).
Malden Lower Elem. accounts for 48.2% of all Malden R-I student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Malden R-I a distant remainder — means Malden R-I-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: combined. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Malden R-I has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 100.0% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is a supermajority of the population — well past the 75% concentration-grant threshold that unlocks extra funding on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Malden R-I student-counselor ratio is 298:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Malden R-I is typically wider than the Malden R-I-aggregate figure suggests.
Malden R-I chronic absenteeism rate is 20.9% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Malden R-I is typically wider than the Malden R-I-aggregate figure suggests.