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What's one thing Ira F Simmons Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
860
Middle
DISTRICT 1,037 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOOVER CITY·NCES 010000701741
Ira F Simmons Middle School
1575 Patton Chapel Road, Hoover, AL 35226 · (205) 439-2100 · Jefferson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL860 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% of Alabama public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Alabama public middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
381 students
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 58%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 279 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 289 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 292 | 34% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
75.9%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
50.8%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alabama schools, those numbers are about 53 and 32.
Source: ACAP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
63.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.8%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% typical for Alabama schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Alabama's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Ira F Simmons Middle School
Ira F Simmons Middle School's state test result (63.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ira F Simmons Middle School this school | 860 | 44.3% | 63.3% |
| Northridge Middle School Tuscaloosa | 775 | 39.1% | 50.8% |
| Prattville Junior High School Prattville | 928 | 39.7% | 45.3% |
| Bragg Middle School Gardendale | 731 | 45.8% | 47.7% |
| Meridianville Middle School Hazel Green | 1,100 | 45.2% | 46.1% |
| Bernice J Causey Middle School Mobile | 1,339 | 52.1% | 48.0% |
Matched among Alabama middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Ira F Simmons Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #37 of 260 | #7 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.8% | #31 of 260 | #7 of 30 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 75.9% | #38 of 260 | #7 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 860 | #26 of 265 | #6 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.9:1 | #9 of 244 | #3 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.7% | #34 of 246 | #2 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.3% | #203 of 264 | #24 of 32 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.9% | #60 of 79 | #6 of 12 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
860
-200 (-19%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 854
Student : Teacher
13.9:1
was 15.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 860 | 62 | 13.9:1 | 44% (381) |
| 2023-24 | 865 | 63 | 13.7:1 | 46% (397) |
| 2022-23 | 882 | 68 | 13.0:1 | 46% (404) |
| 2020-21 | 1,060 | 70 | 15.1:1 | 39% (412) |
| 2017-18 | 828 | 54.5 | 15.2:1 | 28% (230) |
| 2015-16 | 784 | 60 | 13.1:1 | 28% (221) |
| 2010-11 | 934 | 81 | 11.5:1 | 25% (236) |
| 2000-01 | 945 | 70 | 13.5:1 | 8% (78) |
| 1990-91 | 854 | 72 | 11.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ira F Simmons Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (828 to 860); teachers up 14% (54.5 to 62).
About Ira F Simmons Middle School
Ira F Simmons Middle School is a public middle school in Hoover, Alabama. Its grade span covers grades 6 through 8, with 860 students on the rolls. Across middle schools in Alabama, the average enrollment is about 508.
Hoover City operates 16 schools. Combined enrollment is 13,632 students.
The largest group at Ira F Simmons Middle School is White students, at 52%. Other groups include 26% Black, 14% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Jefferson County residents are about 48% White, a similar share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 64%.
The school had 62 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 13.9:1. The gap from the 17.9:1 average for middle schools in Alabama is 4.0 students per teacher. The school reported 44% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
Ira F Simmons Middle School holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 92% of Alabama public middle schools.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Ira F Simmons Middle School, the prediction is 51.8% and the result is 63.3%.
In the wider Jefferson County area, median household income comes to about $66,388, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Jefferson County counts 181 public schools with about 97,401 students.
The closest school to Ira F Simmons Middle School is Gwin Elementary School, located about 0.1 miles away. Ira F Simmons Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Ira F Simmons Middle School ranks 8th of 9 nearby schools, at 63.3% versus a 69.8% average.
NCES assigns Ira F Simmons Middle School the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2020-21, Ira F Simmons Middle School enrolled 1,060 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 860. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.1:1 to 13.9:1.
Ira F Simmons Middle School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
667,755
Census ACS
Median income
$66,388
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
181
97,401 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hoover City
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 2,919 students
- Spain Park High SchoolHigh · 1,472 students
- Robert F Bumpus Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,192 students
- Berry Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,058 students
- Trace Crossings Elementary SchoolElementary · 769 students
- Deer Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 735 students
Other schools in Hoover
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 2,919 students
- Spain Park High SchoolHigh · 1,472 students
- Robert F Bumpus Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,192 students
- Berry Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,058 students
- Trace Crossings Elementary SchoolElementary · 769 students
- Deer Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 735 students
Nearby schools
- Gwin Elementary School0.1 mi · 508
- Green Valley Elementary School1.5 mi · 501
- Bluff Park Elementary School1.9 mi · 658
- Riverchase Elementary School2.3 mi · 562
- Deer Valley Elementary School2.6 mi · 735
- Shades Mountain Elementary School2.7 mi · 328
Frequently asked questions
About Ira F Simmons Middle SchoolHow large is Ira F Simmons Middle School?
Ira F Simmons Middle School enrolls approximately 860 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Ira F Simmons Middle School serve?
Ira F Simmons Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ira F Simmons Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ira F Simmons Middle School is approximately 13.9:1 (62 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ira F Simmons Middle School?
At Ira F Simmons Middle School, the student body is approximately 52% White, 14% Hispanic, 26% Black, 3% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Ira F Simmons Middle School public or private?
Ira F Simmons Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Hoover City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.