Enrollment
312
Middle
DISTRICT 295 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SHELDON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 192598001475
Sheldon Middle School
310 23rd Avenue, Sheldon, IA 51201 · (712) 324-4346 · O'Brien County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE33-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL312 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
116 students
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 5 | 83 | 27% |
| Grade 6 | 88 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 67 | 21% |
| Grade 8 | 74 | 24% |
Student demographics
46%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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
Sheldon Middle School→Sheldon High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Sheldon Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
86.4%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.5pp since 2023
Math
86.1%
IA avg 70.9% . -0.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 86 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 86.4% | 86.1% |
| 2023-24 | 87.9% | 86.6% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
84.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.3%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 84% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 73% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 11 points, placing it in Iowa's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Sheldon Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 84.3% | #32 of 224 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 86.1% | #26 of 224 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.4% | #42 of 224 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 312 | #142 of 246 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.1:1 | #40 of 180 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.9% | #71 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.2% | #133 of 237 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.6% | #103 of 103 |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
312
-37 (-11%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 462
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
was 15.9:1
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 | 312 | 23.9 | 13.1:1 | 37% (116) |
| 2023-24 | 319 | 21.9 | 14.6:1 | 45% (143) |
| 2022-23 | 320 | 22.8 | 14.0:1 | 47% (149) |
| 2020-21 | 349 | 22 | 15.9:1 | 42% (145) |
| 2017-18 | 314 | 20.7 | 15.2:1 | 46% (143) |
| 2015-16 | 294 | 19 | 15.5:1 | 40% (119) |
| 2010-11 | 287 | 17 | 16.9:1 | 32% (92) |
| 2000-01 | 319 | 17 | 18.8:1 | 35% (113) |
| 1990-91 | 462 | 29 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sheldon Middle School.
About Sheldon Middle School
Sheldon Middle School is one of the public schools in Sheldon, Iowa. It is a small middle-grades school. Students in grades 5 through 8 attend the school, which enrolls 312 students. For comparison, middle schools in Iowa average about 400 students.
Sheldon Comm School District counts 1,179 students in its 4 schools, and Sheldon Middle School is one of them.
At Sheldon Middle School, White students make up 69% of the student body. It is also 25% Hispanic and 3% Black. For comparison, the population of O'Brien County is roughly 88% White. Sheldon Middle School's diversity index is 46%, against a US figure of 70%.
With 23.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Sheldon Middle School was 13.1:1. This ratio sits 2.1 below the 15.2:1 average for middle schools in Iowa. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 37%. For comparison, public schools in O'Brien County average 40%.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 73.3% for Sheldon Middle School, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 84.3%. The 10.9-point gap ranks in the top 10% of Iowa schools.
O'Brien County census figures show that the median household income is $68,356, roughly 22% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 9 public schools in O'Brien County, enrolling about 2,377 students in all.
Sheldon High School is located about 0.3 miles from Sheldon Middle School. The five-mile area around Sheldon Middle School holds 3 other public schools. Nearby schools with test data average 77.6% proficiency; Sheldon Middle School posts 84.3%.
Federal data place Sheldon Middle School in the Town: Remote locale, which means it is in a town far from an urbanized area.
Over 4 years, Sheldon Middle School's enrollment dropped 11%, to 312. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.9:1 to 13.1:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss school safety, transportation, and start times at Sheldon Middle School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
O'Brien County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
14,126
Census ACS
Median income
$68,356
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
2,377 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sheldon Comm School District
- East Elementary SchoolElementary · 468 students
- Sheldon High SchoolHigh · 356 students
- Little Orabs PreschoolElementary · 43 students
Other schools in Sheldon
- East Elementary SchoolElementary · 468 students
- Sheldon High SchoolHigh · 356 students
- Little Orabs PreschoolElementary · 43 students
Nearby schools
- Sheldon High School0.3 mi · 356
- Little Orabs Preschool0.3 mi · 43
- East Elementary School0.6 mi · 468
- Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn Middle School8.7 mi · 165
- Boyden-Hull Elementary School8.8 mi · 322
- South O'Brien Elem School - Primghar Center12.1 mi · 328
Frequently asked questions
About Sheldon Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Sheldon Middle School?
Sheldon Middle School enrolls approximately 312 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does Sheldon Middle School serve?
Sheldon Middle School serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Sheldon Middle School have?
Sheldon Middle School employs 24 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.1:1.
How diverse is Sheldon Middle School?
Sheldon Middle School reports a student body of 69% White, 25% Hispanic, 3% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Sheldon Middle School?
Sheldon Middle School is overseen by Sheldon Comm School District in O'Brien County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.