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What's something Ames Middle School does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,033
Middle
DISTRICT 586 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AMES COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190354000060
Ames Middle School
3915 Mortensen Road, Ames, IA 50014 · (515) 268-2400 · Story County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL1,033 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 43% of Iowa 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 Iowa public middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
70 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.4:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
31%
322 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 41%
Community
5
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 | 341 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 338 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 354 | 34% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 48% · 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
Ames Middle School→Ames High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Ames Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
80.0%
IA avg 73.6% . +3.0pp since 2023
Math
77.7%
IA avg 70.9% . +2.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 78 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.0% | 77.7% |
| 2023-24 | 77.0% | 75.5% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. 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
76.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
76.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 77% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 76% typical for Iowa 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 Iowa'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 Ames Middle School
Ames Middle School's state test result (76.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ames Middle School this school | 1,033 | 31.2% | 76.6% |
| Urbandale Middle School Urbandale | 892 | 41.4% | 72.4% |
| South Middle School Waukee | 1,092 | 25.5% | 81.3% |
| Summit Middle School Johnston | 1,118 | 26.0% | 81.9% |
| Parkview Middle School Ankeny | 865 | 27.3% | 85.9% |
| North Central Middle School North Liberty | 925 | 27.7% | 76.7% |
Matched among Iowa 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 Ames Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.6% | #109 of 224 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.7% | #97 of 224 ▲ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.0% | #94 of 224 ▲ 40 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,033 | #9 of 246 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #109 of 180 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.6% | #38 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 31.2% | #163 of 237 |
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
1,033
-64 (-6%) vs 2020
+51% since 1990-91, when it was 685
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 1,033 | 69.9 | 14.8:1 | 31% (322) |
| 2023-24 | 1,032 | 68.1 | 15.2:1 | 33% (339) |
| 2022-23 | 1,002 | 75.5 | 13.3:1 | 31% (309) |
| 2020-21 | 1,097 | 73 | 15.0:1 | 33% (357) |
| 2017-18 | 1,033 | 63.9 | 16.2:1 | 31% (317) |
| 2015-16 | 990 | 65 | 15.2:1 | 31% (307) |
| 2010-11 | 924 | 68 | 13.6:1 | 27% (245) |
| 2000-01 | 739 | 54 | 13.7:1 | 13% (98) |
| 1990-91 | 685 | 30 | 22.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ames Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (1,033 to 1,033); teachers up 9% (63.9 to 69.9).
About Ames Middle School
Ames Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle school in Ames, Iowa. The grade span is 6 through 8, and enrollment is 1,033 students. Average enrollment for middle schools in Iowa is about 400, so this school runs 158% larger than that.
Ames Comm School District operates 8 schools. Combined enrollment is 4,688 students.
Ames Middle School is 62% White by enrollment. Other reported shares: 12% Hispanic, 10% Black, 8% multiracial, and 7% Asian. That compares with about 82% White among all Story County residents. Pick two students at random and there is a 58% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
With 69.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Ames Middle School was 14.8:1. For comparison, middle schools in Iowa average 15.2:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 31%.
Ames Middle School is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 43% of Iowa public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
A school with Ames Middle School's lunch-eligibility share in Iowa is predicted to score 76.3%. Ames Middle School scores 76.6%, within a point of that line.
Story County census figures show that the median household income is $69,685, 55% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. There are 26 public schools in Story County, enrolling about 11,665 students in all.
Edwards Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles away. The five-mile area around Ames Middle School holds 7 other public schools. Local comparison: Ames Middle School ranks 2nd of 8 nearby schools, at 76.6% versus a 72.8% average.
Ames Middle School falls in the Rural: Fringe locale category, used for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment dropped 6% from its 2020-21 level of 1,097.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Story County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,466
Census ACS
Median income
$69,685
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
26
11,665 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ames Comm School District
- Ames High SchoolHigh · 1,440 students
- Fellows Elementary SchoolElementary · 489 students
- Edwards Elementary SchoolElementary · 436 students
- Sawyer Elementary SchoolElementary · 371 students
- Meeker Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Mitchell Elementary SchoolElementary · 314 students
Other schools in Ames
- Ames High SchoolHigh · 1,440 students
- Fellows Elementary SchoolElementary · 489 students
- Edwards Elementary SchoolElementary · 436 students
- Sawyer Elementary SchoolElementary · 371 students
- Meeker Elementary SchoolElementary · 361 students
- Mitchell Elementary SchoolElementary · 314 students
Nearby schools
- Edwards Elementary School0.8 mi · 436
- Sawyer Elementary School1.5 mi · 371
- Ames High School2.7 mi · 1,440
- Fellows Elementary School3.0 mi · 489
- Meeker Elementary School3.4 mi · 361
- Northwood Pre-School3.7 mi · 244
Frequently asked questions
About Ames Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ames Middle School?
Ames Middle School enrolls approximately 1,033 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Ames Middle School serve?
Ames Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ames Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ames Middle School is approximately 14.8:1 (70 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Ames Middle School?
Ames Middle School reports a student body of 62% White, 12% Hispanic, 10% Black, 7% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Ames Middle School in?
Ames Middle School is part of Ames Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.