1
What tradition at Palmer Middle School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
563
Middle
DISTRICT 488 · STATE 399
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MATANUSKA-SUSITNA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 020051000544
Palmer Middle School
1159 S Chugach, Palmer, AK 99645 · (907) 761-4300 · Matanuska-Susitna Borough
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE23-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL563 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 62% of Alaska public middle schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·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 Alaska public middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.9:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.4:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
250 students
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 65%
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 | 192 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 187 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 184 | 33% |
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 71% · 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
AK STAR + Alaska Science 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
44.9%
AK avg 36.1% . +7.2pp since 2023
Math
39.0%
AK avg 34.6% . +3.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the AK STAR + Alaska Science, Alaska's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Alaska schools, those numbers are about 36 and 35. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
AK STAR + Alaska Science results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 44.9% | 39.0% |
| 2023-24 | 37.7% | 35.1% |
% Advanced + Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AK STAR + Alaska Science. 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
39.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.0%
based on AK schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% typical for Alaska 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 Alaska'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 Palmer Middle School
Palmer Middle School's state test result (39.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Middle School this school | 563 | 44.4% | 39.6% |
| Kenai Middle School Kenai | 408 | 43.4% | 35.4% |
| Wasilla Middle School Wasilla | 584 | 48.6% | 32.5% |
| Skyview Middle School Soldotna | 355 | 33.2% | 29.9% |
| North Pole Middle School North Pole | 631 | 33.9% | 35.2% |
| Randy Smith Middle School Fairbanks | 413 | 29.3% | 41.9% |
Matched among Alaska 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 Palmer Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Alaska |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.6% | #10 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #12 of 29 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.9% | #4 of 29 ▲ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 563 | #11 of 35 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.9:1 | #15 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.9% | #21 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.4% | #10 of 29 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.6% | #11 of 11 |
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
563
+72 (+15%) vs 2020
-2% since 1990-91, when it was 575
Student : Teacher
18.9:1
was 17.5:1
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 | 563 | 29.9 | 18.9:1 | 44% (250) |
| 2023-24 | 567 | 31 | 18.3:1 | 45% (254) |
| 2022-23 | 594 | 28.6 | 20.8:1 | 45% (270) |
| 2020-21 | 491 | 28 | 17.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 572 | 29.7 | 19.3:1 | 45% (257) |
| 2015-16 | 608 | 31 | 19.6:1 | 40% (245) |
| 2010-11 | 575 | 36 | 16.0:1 | 36% (205) |
| 2000-01 | 712 | 42 | 16.9:1 | 30% (212) |
| 1990-91 | 575 | 33 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palmer Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (572 to 563); teachers up 1% (29.7 to 29.9).
About Palmer Middle School
Palmer Middle School is a medium-sized middle school in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, located in Palmer, Alaska. Enrolled students number 563 students, in grades 6 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in Alaska average about 399 students each.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District enrolls 19,495 students, and its 49 schools include Palmer Middle School.
By race and ethnicity, Palmer Middle School is 67% White. After that, the student body is 16% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 7% Native American. Census figures show Matanuska-Susitna Borough is about 77% White. The chance that two students picked at random at Palmer Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 52%.
The count of teachers at Palmer Middle School is 29.9 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 18.9:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Alaska is 17.5:1, lower than at this school. Around 44% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That is close to the 45% average for public schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The allk12 Grade for Palmer Middle School is B. Compared with Alaska public middle schools, the school scored higher than 62% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Palmer Middle School, the prediction is 38.0% and the result is 39.6%.
Across Matanuska-Susitna Borough, median household income is about $94,031, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Palmer Middle School is among the 49 public schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Mat-Su Secondary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 39.6% is above the 38.9% average for nearby schools.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Small).
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 15%, from 491 to 563. By 2024-25, the school had 18.9 students per teacher, compared with 17.5 in 2020-21.
Conversations here can range across sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Matanuska-Susitna Borough at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
112,988
Census ACS
Median income
$94,031
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
49
19,495 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
- Mat-Su Central SchoolCombined · 2,780 students
- Colony High SchoolHigh · 1,046 students
- Wasilla High SchoolHigh · 816 students
- Colony Middle SchoolElementary · 771 students
- Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High SchoolHigh · 705 students
- Teeland Middle SchoolElementary · 643 students
Other schools in Palmer
- Colony High SchoolHigh · 1,046 students
- Colony Middle SchoolElementary · 771 students
- Palmer High SchoolHigh · 616 students
- Pioneer Peak ElementaryElementary · 449 students
- Birchtree Charter SchoolElementary · 416 students
- Sherrod ElementaryElementary · 383 students
Other Palmer Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Palmer Middle. Palmer Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Palmer Middle SchoolKennesaw, GA · 803 students
- Palmer Middle SchoolPALMER, TX · 423 students
Nearby schools
- Mat-Su Secondary School0.5 mi · 10
- Academy Charter School1.1 mi · 268
- Palmer High School1.2 mi · 616
- Swanson Elementary1.3 mi · 348
- Sherrod Elementary1.4 mi · 383
- Valley Pathways1.9 mi · 143
Frequently asked questions
About Palmer Middle SchoolHow large is Palmer Middle School?
Palmer Middle School enrolls approximately 563 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Palmer Middle School serve?
Palmer Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palmer Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Palmer Middle School is approximately 18.9:1 (30 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Palmer Middle School?
Student demographics at Palmer Middle School are roughly 67% White, 7% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 16% Two or more.
What district is Palmer Middle School in?
Palmer Middle School is part of Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.