Missouri · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best School Districts in Missouri

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

50
Districts ranked
102,991
Students enrolled
57/100
Avg quality score
C+
Top grade

The ranking in one line

Osage Co. R-Iii in Westphalia leads Missouri's districts with an average school quality score of 63/100 across 2 schools.

63/100
top district score (grade C+)
2
schools in Osage Co. R-Iii
758
students in the top district
57/100
average across the top 50
# District GradeAvg Quality
1 Osage Co. R-Iii Westphalia C+ 63
2 West Platte Co. R-Ii Weston C+ 63
3 Scott City R-I Scott City C+ 62.7
4 Bernie R-Xiii Bernie C+ 61.5
5 Trenton R-Ix Trenton C+ 61
6 Ash Grove R-Iv Ash Grove C+ 60.3
7 East Buchanan Co. C-1 Gower C 59.7
8 Washington Washington C 59.2
9 Osage Co. R-Ii Linn C 59
10 Pierce City R-Vi Pierce City C 58.7
11 Clayton Clayton C 58.4
12 Putnam Co. R-I Unionville C 58.3
13 South Callaway Co. R-Ii Mokane C 58
14 Sarcoxie R-Ii Sarcoxie C 58
15 Blair Oaks R-Ii Jefferson City C 57.8
16 Macon Co. R-I Macon C 57.7
17 Gainesville R-V Gainesville C 57.7
18 Monroe City R-I Monroe City C 57.3
19 Southern Boone Co. R-I Ashland C 57.3
20 Bowling Green R-I Bowling Green C 57
21 Lewis Co. C-1 Lewistown C 56.5
22 Crystal City 47 Crystal City C 56.5
23 Francis Howell R-Iii O'fallon C 56.4
24 Ralls Co. R-Ii Center C 56.3
25 Ste. Genevieve Co. R-Ii Ste Genevieve C 56.3
26 Maplewood-Richmond Heights Maplewood C 56.3
27 Parkway C-2 Chesterfield C 56.2
28 Valley Park Valley Park C 56
29 Maries Co. R-Ii Belle C 56
30 Lebanon R-Iii Lebanon C 55.8
31 Bloomfield R-Xiv Bloomfield C 55.8
32 Center 58 Kansas City C 55.7
33 Brentwood Brentwood C 55.4
34 Chillicothe R-Ii Chillicothe C 55.2
35 Camdenton R-Iii Camdenton C 55
36 Palmyra R-I Palmyra C 55
37 Knob Noster R-Viii Knob Noster C- 54.5
38 Thayer R-Ii Thayer C- 54.5
39 Adrian R-Iii Adrian C- 54.5
40 Webster Groves Webster Groves C- 54
41 Dallas Co. R-I Buffalo C- 54
42 North Callaway Co. R-I Kingdom City C- 54
43 Shelby Co. R-Iv Shelbina C- 54
44 Crocker R-Ii Crocker C- 53.5
45 Monett R-I Monett C- 53.4
46 Kingston K-14 Cadet C- 53.3
47 Excelsior Springs 40 Excelsior Springs C- 53.1
48 Elsberry R-Ii Elsberry C- 53
49 Bismarck R-V Bismarck C- 53
50 Republic R-Iii Republic C- 52.9

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Missouri? ▼

The top-ranked district in Missouri is Osage Co. R-Iii in Westphalia with 758 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 63/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated? ▼

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in Missouri? ▼

Missouri has 50+ school districts serving 887,264 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 12.9:1.

Explore More for Missouri

All Schools → Best Schools → Highest Spending → Funding Equity → Absenteeism Data →

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.