Public + private high schools, every state.
882
high schools (public + private)
743
public (472 districts)
139
private (NCES PSS)
67,323
public grade‑12 students (seniors, latest year)

MO public HS enrollment trend

Across the 268,994 students enrolled in MO brick-and-mortar public high schools in 2021, the state contracted -0.2% by 2024 (268,502 students, -492 net). That's the demographic tide every individual school is fighting or riding.

Charter share of public HS enrollment (latest year): 1.9% (5,144 of 268,502 students). Virtual / nonclassroom-based schools excluded.

🗺️ State context · NAEP 2024

How does MO compare nationally?

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only test given the same way to students in every state — making it the benchmark for state-to-state academic comparison. Below, this state's 8th-grade averages and where it sits on the 50-state distribution.

8th-grade math
273
0 vs national avg (273)
8th-grade reading
263
+3 vs national avg (260)
national avg MO Math → Reading → 260 290 245 275

Each dot is one state's 2024 NAEP 8th-grade averages. MO is highlighted in gold. Dashed lines mark national averages — being upper-right of both = above national in both subjects. Source: NAEP State Snapshot Reports. NAEP doesn't produce per-school scores — this is state-level context.

Where the students are

Top 10 cities by public-HS enrollment

ST LOUIS 35 HS 19,769
KANSAS CITY 26 HS 16,968
SPRINGFIELD 10 HS 6,895
ST CHARLES 5 HS 6,736
LEE'S SUMMIT 6 HS 5,973
COLUMBIA 6 HS 5,709
BLUE SPRINGS 2 HS 4,728
FLORISSANT 4 HS 4,685
INDEPENDENCE 3 HS 4,682
LIBERTY 2 HS 4,104

School-size distribution

Public, classroom-based · grades 9–12, latest year

Fastest-growing high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
BEAUMONT CTE HIGH SCHOOL
ST. LOUIS CITY
181→415 +129.3%
KIPP KC LEGACY HIGH SCHOOL
KIPP: ENDEAVOR ACADEMY
197→382 +93.9%
SUMNER HIGH
ST. LOUIS CITY
220→407 +85.0%
ROOSEVELT HIGH
ST. LOUIS CITY
413→734 +77.7%
NORTH POINT HIGH SCHOOL
WENTZVILLE R-IV
1,075→1,433 +33.3%
OZARK HIGH
OZARK R-VI
1,357→1,789 +31.8%
EXTERNAL SITES
SPECL. SCH. DST. ST. LOUIS CO.
317→413 +30.3%
GATEWAY SCIENCE ACADEMY HIGH
GATEWAY SCIENCE ACAD/ST LOUIS
356→461 +29.5%
FORDLAND HIGH
FORDLAND R-III
160→200 +25.0%
UNIVERSITY CITY SR. HIGH
UNIVERSITY CITY
708→874 +23.4%
Fastest-shrinking high schools
public, classroom-based · grade 9–12 · 2021→2024
SOLDAN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
ST. LOUIS CITY
516→337 -34.7%
KIPP ST. LOUIS HIGH
KIPP ST LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
535→354 -33.8%
EMIL E. HOLT SR. HIGH
WENTZVILLE R-IV
1,479→1,022 -30.9%
RAYMORE-PECULIAR SR. HIGH
RAYMORE-PECULIAR R-II
2,092→1,540 -26.4%
SMITHTON HIGH
SMITHTON R-VI
190→140 -26.3%
CHARLESTON HIGH
CHARLESTON R-I
260→195 -25.0%
MILLER CAREER ACADEMY
ST. LOUIS CITY
568→430 -24.3%
PLEASANT HOPE HIGH
PLEASANT HOPE R-VI
294→224 -23.8%
MANSFIELD HIGH
MANSFIELD R-IV
227→174 -23.3%
POLO HIGH
POLO R-VII
163→127 -22.1%

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