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Alumni: what's one memory from ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
434
Middle
DISTRICT 727 · STATE 794
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ESCAMBIA·NCES 120051000813
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL
7650 HIGHWAY 97, WALNUT HILL, FL 32568 · (850) 761-6301 · Escambia County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL434 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 38% of Florida 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.
- CBeats 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 Florida public middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.0:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
190 students
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 50%
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 | 144 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 159 | 37% |
| Grade 8 | 131 | 30% |
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 70% · 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
FAST / B.E.S.T. 2024-25 . % at Level 3 or AboveEnglish Language Arts
51.2%
FL avg 56.7% . +7.2pp since 2023
Math
59.4%
FL avg 58.9% . +10.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the FAST / B.E.S.T., Florida's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Florida schools, those numbers are about 57 and 59. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
FAST / B.E.S.T. results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.2% | 59.4% |
| 2023-24 | 44.0% | 48.7% |
% at Level 3 or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: FAST / B.E.S.T.. 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
51.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.2%
based on FL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% typical for Florida 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 Florida'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 ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL's state test result (51.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL this school | 434 | 43.8% | 51.9% |
| ROULHAC MIDDLE SCHOOL CHIPLEY | 414 | 43.7% | 56.8% |
| WAKULLA MIDDLE SCHOOL CRAWFORDVILLE | 476 | 37.0% | 59.1% |
| THOMAS JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL MERRITT ISLAND | 481 | 47.0% | 66.2% |
| GRAND RIDGE SCHOOL GRAND RIDGE | 359 | 50.7% | 50.1% |
| UMATILLA MIDDLE SCHOOL UMATILLA | 633 | 44.5% | 55.3% |
Matched among Florida 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 ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Florida | In Escambia County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.9% | #303 of 560 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.4% | #259 of 560 ▲ 81 | #4 of 10 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.2% | #312 of 560 ▲ 22 | #5 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 434 | #500 of 584 | #9 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.1:1 | #168 of 547 | #7 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.3% | #405 of 553 | #9 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 43.8% | #379 of 565 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -10.1% | #241 of 379 | #7 of 8 |
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
434
-54 (-11%) vs 2020
-6% since 1990-91, when it was 464
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
was 18.8:1
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 | 434 | 24 | 18.1:1 | 44% (190) |
| 2023-24 | 490 | 18 | 27.2:1 | 50% (244) |
| 2022-23 | 486 | 22 | 22.1:1 | 49% (237) |
| 2020-21 | 488 | 26 | 18.8:1 | 41% (200) |
| 2017-18 | 483 | 27 | 17.9:1 | 42% (201) |
| 2015-16 | 455 | 27 | 16.9:1 | 62% (282) |
| 2010-11 | 485 | 33 | 14.7:1 | 60% (291) |
| 2000-01 | 232 | 12 | 19.3:1 | 47% (109) |
| 1990-91 | 464 | 36 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
About ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL is a small middle school with its address in WALNUT HILL, Florida. The school teaches grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 434 students. That is 45% below the average of about 794 students for middle schools in Florida.
ESCAMBIA (66 schools, 36,795 students) runs ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL.
The share of White students at ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL is 71%, a majority. It is also 14% Black, 6% multiracial, 6% Hispanic, and 3% Native American. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 47%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 18.1:1. The school has 24 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 19.6:1 average for middle schools in Florida is 1.5 students per teacher. In all, 44% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 54% average for public schools in Escambia County, the school's rate is lower.
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL holds a C+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 38% of Florida public middle schools.
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL scores 51.9% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 59.2%.
In the wider Escambia County area, median household income comes to about $67,500, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Escambia County counts 71 public schools with about 37,056 students.
Of the public schools around it, ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL is closest to BRATT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, about 5.3 miles away. There are 6 other public schools within ten miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL at 2nd of 8.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Distant.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was an 11% decline, from 488 to 434.
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL has a community page on allk12 for topics such as special education services, counseling, and support programs. You can also rate the school on this page.
Escambia County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
325,923
Census ACS
Median income
$67,500
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
71
37,056 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in ESCAMBIA
- J. M. TATE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 2,169 students
- WASHINGTON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,676 students
- ESCAMBIA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,634 students
- PINE FOREST HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,604 students
- WEST FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL/TECHNICALHigh · 1,322 students
- PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,221 students
Nearby schools
- BRATT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL5.3 mi · 472
- NORTHVIEW HIGH SCHOOL6.3 mi · 527
- Escambia County High School7.5 mi · 390
- A C Moore Primary School8.1 mi · 216
- Rachel Patterson Elementary School8.5 mi · 509
- BYRNEVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL INC.10.0 mi · 193
Frequently asked questions
About ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOLHow many students attend ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL?
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls approximately 434 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL serve?
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL?
The student-to-teacher ratio at ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL is approximately 18.1:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL?
Student demographics at ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL are roughly 71% White, 6% Hispanic, 14% Black, 0% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL in?
ERNEST WARD MIDDLE SCHOOL is part of ESCAMBIA.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.