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What's one thing Southern Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
759
Middle
DISTRICT 741 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FAYETTE COUNTY·NCES 210186000394
Southern Middle School
400 Wilson-Downing Rd, Lexington, KY 40517 · (859) 381-3582 · Fayette County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL759 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 63% of Kentucky 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.
- BBeats 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 Kentucky public middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
399 students
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 63%
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 | 242 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 232 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 285 | 38% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 47% · 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
KSA (K-PREP) 2024-25 . % Proficient/DistinguishedEnglish Language Arts
53.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
41.7%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Kentucky schools, those numbers are about 48 and 43.
Source: KSA (K-PREP). 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
44.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.5%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% typical for Kentucky 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 Kentucky'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 Southern Middle School
Southern Middle School's state test result (44.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Middle School this school | 759 | 52.6% | 44.6% |
| Tates Creek Middle School Lexington | 767 | 57.0% | 37.4% |
| Highland Middle Louisville | 639 | 56.0% | 36.3% |
| Bowling Green Junior High Bowling Green | 1,042 | 54.9% | 45.9% |
| Westport Middle Louisville | 988 | 57.1% | 34.0% |
| Kammerer Middle Louisville | 781 | 44.0% | 37.0% |
Matched among Kentucky 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 Southern Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky | In Fayette County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.6% | #73 of 216 | #7 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.7% | #102 of 216 | #7 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.0% | #65 of 217 | #6 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 759 | #44 of 221 | #6 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #27 of 210 | #7 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.1% | #23 of 210 | #5 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.6% | #157 of 219 | #7 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.2% | #129 of 156 | #6 of 7 |
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
759
+6 (+1%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 846
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 759 | 55.7 | 13.6:1 | 53% (399) |
| 2023-24 | 764 | 56.1 | 13.6:1 | 54% (411) |
| 2022-23 | 772 | 55.7 | 13.9:1 | 53% (413) |
| 2020-21 | 753 | 54 | 13.9:1 | 60% (449) |
| 2017-18 | 801 | 49 | 16.4:1 | 51% (406) |
| 2015-16 | 623 | 42 | 14.8:1 | 56% (350) |
| 2010-11 | 694 | 45 | 15.4:1 | 47% (326) |
| 2000-01 | 787 | 53 | 14.8:1 | 27% (210) |
| 1990-91 | 846 | 51 | 16.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (801 to 759); teachers up 14% (49 to 55.7).
About Southern Middle School
Southern Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle school in Lexington, Kentucky. The school's 759 students are in grades 6 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in Kentucky average about 558 students each.
Southern Middle School is a school in Fayette County. The district has 73 schools and 42,138 students.
White students are the largest group at Southern Middle School, with 48% of enrollment. The next largest groups are 24% Black, 17% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 4% Asian. The school's White share is 21 points below the 68% share among Fayette County residents. By the diversity index, Southern Middle School comes in at 68%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.6:1 at Southern Middle School, with 55.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 15.8:1 average for middle schools in Kentucky is higher than this school's figure. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 53%. That is close to the 50% average for public schools in Fayette County.
The allk12 Grade for Southern Middle School is B. Compared with Kentucky public middle schools, the school scored higher than 63% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Southern Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Kentucky schools: 44.6% actual against 45.5% predicted.
Southern Middle School is located in Fayette County, where median household income is about $69,479, 48% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 81 public schools in Fayette County, with a combined enrollment of about 42,142.
The closest public school, Southern Elementary School, is about 0.1 miles from Southern Middle School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Southern Middle School is 2nd on average proficiency.
The school's locale code, City: Large, means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2020-21, Southern Middle School enrolled 753; in 2024-25, 759.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Southern Middle School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Fayette County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
323,725
Census ACS
Median income
$69,479
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
81
42,142 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Fayette County
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 2,370 students
- Bryan Station High SchoolHigh · 2,030 students
- Henry Clay High SchoolHigh · 1,939 students
- Paul Laurence Dunbar High SchoolHigh · 1,828 students
- Frederick Douglass High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Tates Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,723 students
Other schools in Lexington
- Lafayette High SchoolHigh · 2,370 students
- Bryan Station High SchoolHigh · 2,030 students
- Henry Clay High SchoolHigh · 1,939 students
- Paul Laurence Dunbar High SchoolHigh · 1,828 students
- Frederick Douglass High SchoolHigh · 1,770 students
- Tates Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,723 students
Other Southern Middle schools
8 other US public schools in 4 states are named Southern Middle. Southern Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 9.
- Southern Middle SchoolSomerset, KY · 871 students
- Southern MiddleLothian, MD · 726 students
- Southern Middle SchoolReading, PA · 661 students
- Southern MiddleAberdeen, NC · 620 students
- Southern Middle SchoolGlen Rock, PA · 466 students
Nearby schools
- Southern Elementary School0.1 mi · 476
- Lansdowne Elementary School0.7 mi · 610
- Millcreek Elementary School1.4 mi · 529
- Veterans Park Elementary School1.5 mi · 702
- Tates Creek Elementary School1.6 mi · 626
- Tates Creek Middle School1.7 mi · 767
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Southern Middle School?
Southern Middle School enrolls approximately 759 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Southern Middle School serve?
Southern Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Southern Middle School have?
Southern Middle School employs 56 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Southern Middle School?
Student demographics at Southern Middle School are roughly 48% White, 17% Hispanic, 24% Black, 4% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Southern Middle School in?
Southern Middle School is part of Fayette County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.