Academic Achievement

All four Rockwood high schools received top rankings by U.S. News & World Report on the 2024 Best High Schools list. Nearly 18,000 public schools were ranked on six factors based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college. In the state of Missouri, Lafayette ranked fifth, Marquette ranked 11th, Rockwood Summit ranked 14th, and Eureka ranked 21st. Six other Rockwood schools — Chesterfield Elementary, Crestview Middle, Kehrs Mill Elementary, Rockwood Valley Middle, Wild Horse Elementary and Wildwood Middle — also ranked in the top 4.5 percent of state public schools in U.S. News & World Report's K-8 school rankings this fall.

Niche.com, a website that helps families discover schools and neighborhoods, recently revealed its top public high schools, and all four Rockwood high schools made the list. According to Niche, Lafayette ranked third in the state, Marquette ranked fourth, Rockwood Summit ranked 12th, and Eureka ranked 30th. See how we did as a district.

Missouri Assessment Program (MAP)

Rockwood students continually perform at high levels in the content areas of Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies on state assessment tests.

Group	Language Arts	Math	Science	Social Studies
Rockwood	59.8%	59.3%	57.5%	56.8%
Missouri	43.2%	41.2%	38.4%	39.7%

MAP results should be used in tandem with other data points—such as learning environment and other contextual factors—to understand student performance in relation to academic goals.

ACT

Rockwood students scored an average composite score of 23.1 on the ACT during the 2023-2024 school year, outperforming the state average of 19.9. On the ACT, based on our students’ best attempt, 40 percent of Rockwood students who took the exam met or exceeded all four College Readiness Benchmarks, outpacing the state and national averages. The ACT defines College Readiness Benchmarks as minimum scores needed to indicate a 50-percent chance of obtaining a B or higher or a 75-percent chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses.

Group	Composite Average	College Readiness Benchmarks
Rockwood	23.1	40%
Missouri	19.9	20%*

* - (source: ACT Profile Report)

In 2023-2024, Rockwood offered 33 different AP courses. More than 1,900 Rockwood students took at least one AP exam. Rockwood students took a total of 4,310 AP exams, and 87 percent of Rockwood students who took an AP exam earned a score of 3 or higher (out of 5). A total of 895 students also earned an AP award during Spring 2024 testing. All four Rockwood high schools are among more than 5,000 schools in the US and Canada that earned 2024 AP School Honor Roll recognition. Only 32 percent of all eligible schools earned a place on this year's honor roll.

For the fifth straight year, all four Rockwood high schools earned the Distinguished School designation from Project Lead the Way (PLTW). They are among 291 schools from around the nation and 26 from Missouri to be named a Distinguished School, a designation that recognizes schools that are committed to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in PLTW courses. Rockwood offers an assortment of biomedical science and pre-engineering courses that align with PLTW standards, providing transformative learning experiences for students and teachers through courses that cultivate an engaging, hands-on classroom environment in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

More than 60 percent of the graduating class earned a B or better through coursework from the Advanced Placement or Advanced Credit Program.

Each year, Rockwood high school seniors earn their associate degree at the same time as their high school diploma through the Early College Partnership, a joint venture between Rockwood and St. Louis Community College. Students enter the two-year program before their junior year of high school and take dual-enrollment courses in order to earn their associate degree and get an early start on their future.

Rockwood believes in the importance of character education to support the social, emotional and ethical development of students. Because of its efforts in character education, Blevins Elementary was named a 2024 National School of Character by Character.org. Blevins, Eureka Elementary and Lafayette High were also named State Schools of Character.

(page updated Jan. 2025)