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What do students at NicholsLawson Middle School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
446
Middle
DISTRICT 494 · STATE 508
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SYLACAUGA CITY·NCES 010312002100
NicholsLawson Middle School
1550 Talladega Highway, Sylacauga, AL 35150 · (256) 245-4376 · Talladega County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL446 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 50% of Alabama public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats 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
15.4:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.9:1 · STATE 17.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
268 students
DISTRICT 58% · 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 | 132 | 30% |
| Grade 7 | 155 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 159 | 36% |
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
NicholsLawson Middle School→Sylacauga High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Sylacauga City. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ACAP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
53.8%
AL avg 52.7%
Math
23.1%
AL avg 31.8%
What this means: On the ACAP, Alabama's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 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
39.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.3%
based on AL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 NicholsLawson Middle School
NicholsLawson Middle School's state test result (39.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| NicholsLawson Middle School this school | 446 | 60.1% | 39.1% |
| Centreville Middle School Centreville | 440 | 60.9% | 28.1% |
| Bay Minette Middle School Bay Minette | 432 | 61.8% | 34.2% |
| Demopolis Middle School Demopolis | 394 | 59.4% | 46.5% |
| Charles R Drew Middle School Lincoln | 448 | 58.3% | 52.9% |
| Southside Middle School Tallassee | 424 | 58.0% | 42.1% |
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 NicholsLawson Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alabama | In Talladega County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #140 of 260 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.1% | #136 of 260 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.8% | #143 of 260 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 446 | #135 of 265 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #38 of 244 | #2 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.7% | #62 of 246 | #1 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.1% | #121 of 264 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.4% | #72 of 151 | N/A |
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
446
-94 (-17%) vs 2020
-25% since 2010-11, when it was 592
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 18.6:1
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 | 446 | 29 | 15.4:1 | 60% (268) |
| 2023-24 | 434 | 32 | 13.6:1 | 68% (295) |
| 2022-23 | 481 | 31 | 15.5:1 | 68% (328) |
| 2020-21 | 540 | 29 | 18.6:1 | 55% (295) |
| 2017-18 | 509 | 30 | 17.0:1 | 55% (279) |
| 2015-16 | 496 | 32 | 15.5:1 | 55% (274) |
| 2010-11 | 592 | 43 | 13.8:1 | 55% (328) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for NicholsLawson Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (509 to 446); teachers down 3% (30 to 29).
About NicholsLawson Middle School
NicholsLawson Middle School is a middle school in Sylacauga, Alabama, and it is part of Sylacauga City. The school counted 446 students in 2024-25, covering grades 6 through 8.
NicholsLawson Middle School is in Sylacauga City, a district with 1,976 students across 4 schools.
The largest racial or ethnic group at NicholsLawson Middle School is White, with 48% of students. The next largest groups are 41% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial. The school's White share is 14 points below the 62% share among Talladega County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 60%.
NicholsLawson Middle School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.4:1, with 29 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for middle schools in Alabama, 17.9:1, is higher. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 60% at NicholsLawson Middle School. That is in line with the 62% average for public schools in Talladega County.
Among Alabama public middle schools, NicholsLawson Middle School outscored 50%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for NicholsLawson Middle School is 40.3%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 39.1%.
In Talladega County, the median household earns about $57,776 a year, about 17% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 16%. Across Talladega County, 33 public schools serve about 10,973 students.
About 0.7 miles separate NicholsLawson Middle School from the closest public school, Indian Valley Elementary School. A five-mile radius around the school includes 5 other public schools. Nearby schools average 39.2% on proficiency, and NicholsLawson Middle School is below that at 39.1%.
NicholsLawson Middle School is in a town some distance from an urbanized area, a location NCES labels Town: Distant.
Federal enrollment counts decreased from 540 (2020-21) to 446 (2024-25). Students per teacher dropped from 18.6 in 2020-21 to 15.4 in 2024-25.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at NicholsLawson Middle School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Talladega County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
81,021
Census ACS
Median income
$57,776
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
33
10,973 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sylacauga City
- Sylacauga High SchoolHigh · 627 students
- Indian Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 477 students
- Pinecrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
Other schools in Sylacauga
- Sylacauga High SchoolHigh · 627 students
- Fayetteville High SchoolCombined · 580 students
- BB Comer Memorial Elementary SchoolElementary · 521 students
- Indian Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · 477 students
- Pinecrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
- BB Comer Memorial High SchoolHigh · 395 students
Nearby schools
- Indian Valley Elementary School0.7 mi · 477
- Sylacauga High School1.0 mi · 627
- BB Comer Memorial High School1.2 mi · 395
- BB Comer Memorial Elementary School1.2 mi · 521
- Pinecrest Elementary School2.9 mi · 426
- Childersburg High School8.4 mi · 374
Frequently asked questions
About NicholsLawson Middle SchoolHow large is NicholsLawson Middle School?
NicholsLawson Middle School enrolls approximately 446 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does NicholsLawson Middle School serve?
NicholsLawson Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does NicholsLawson Middle School have?
NicholsLawson Middle School employs 29 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.4:1.
What is the student diversity at NicholsLawson Middle School?
Student demographics at NicholsLawson Middle School are roughly 48% White, 6% Hispanic, 41% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is NicholsLawson Middle School public or private?
NicholsLawson Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Sylacauga City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.