Primary and Secondary Schools.  Rolla is blessed with a diverse and highly rated educational and training system.  Rolla’s Public School District (rated AAA) serves over 4,000 students with three elementary (K-4), a middle school (5-7), one junior high (8-9), and one high school (10-12).  The Rolla Middle School and Rolla High School have been named Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education and Gold Star Schools.  These awards are the highest offered by both the state and at the national level.  The community supports its public school system as evidenced by a vote to increase the property tax in 2001 to improve teacher pay.  A foundation established to raise money for enriching Rolla’s educational environment, Champions of Rolla Education (CORE), operates the state license fee office.  Vocational training is available at Rolla Technical Institute/Rolla Technical Center, rated as one of the best vo-tech schools in the Midwest.  There are five parochial schools with a combined enrollment over 375. The Rolla District expended $ 6,452 per pupil in 2004.

Public Education Facts (2004).

Enrollment:                                         4,081

Student/Teacher Ratio:                    20.00 students/teacher

                                                            (State average 18)

Graduation Rate:                               87.2 %

                                                            (State rate 83.9 %)

Pupil Attendance Rate                     94.10 %

                                                           (State rate 93.8 %)

Dropout Rate:                                    2.98 % 

                                                           (State rate 3.68 %)

% Graduates Scoring at/above

National Average ACT Test

Score:                                                 44.8 % 

                                                            (State percentage 36.6 %)       

Average Teacher Salary                  $ 39,900

                                                            (State average $ 39,293)

Average ACT Score:                        22.9 

                                                            (State average score 21.4)

SAT Test Score:                               1,292 

                                                            (State score 1,165)

% Graduates Entering a 2 or 4

Year College/University or              

(non-college) Institution                    81.2 % 

                                                            (State percentage 68.6 %)

Post-Secondary.  Rolla’s colleges and universities also enhance the academic atmosphere, making postsecondary, graduate-level, and continuing education resources readily available.  The University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) is one of the leading engineering and research universities in the U.S. offering more engineering degrees than many other nationally ranked institutions, such as Purdue, Georgia Tech, and the University of Illinois.  UMR is located on a 284-acre campus in central Rolla and has an enrollment over 5,500 students, 19 % of which are pursuing post-graduate degrees.  The student/faculty ratio is low, only 14:1, with an average class size of just 26 students.  The low student/faculty ratio and class size promotes close interaction between the students and the approximately 400 faculty members, 99 % of whom have Ph.Ds or the highest degree awarded in their field.  UMR provides business with an impressive supply of technology-oriented workers with engineering degrees in the fields of aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, engineering management, geology, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, etc.  Several local companies have direct ties to UMR and the research conducted here, such as Brewer Science, Inc. (a leading edge manufacturer of precision equipment and specialty coatings for micro-electronics) and Mo-SCI Corporation (state-of-the-art manufacturer of specialty glass and fiber products for medical and other uses).