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Which teacher or staff member at Southern Middle School deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
871
Middle
DISTRICT 834 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PULASKI COUNTY·NCES 210495001572
Southern Middle School
200 Enterprise Dr, Somerset, KY 42501 · (606) 679-6855 · Pulaski County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL871 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% of Kentucky public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
19.8:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.6:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
65%
564 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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 | 309 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 286 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 276 | 32% |
Student demographics
24%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 24% · 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
63.3%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
53.7%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 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
53.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.0%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% 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 (53.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Middle School this school | 871 | 64.8% | 53.5% |
| North Laurel Middle School London | 970 | 65.6% | 56.4% |
| Rev. Henry E. Baker Sr. Interm. School Winchester | 767 | 64.3% | 43.2% |
| Muhlenberg County Middle School Greenville | 871 | 60.3% | 33.9% |
| South Laurel Middle School London | 837 | 70.1% | 54.1% |
| Allen County Intermediate Center Scottsville | 665 | 65.9% | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 53.5% | #35 of 216 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 53.7% | #39 of 216 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #24 of 217 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 871 | #21 of 221 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.8:1 | #204 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.7% | #134 of 210 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.8% | #71 of 219 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.0% | #61 of 156 |
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
871
-179 (-17%) vs 2020
+9% since 1990-91, when it was 801
Student : Teacher
19.8:1
was 20.2:1
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 | 871 | 44 | 19.8:1 | 65% (564) |
| 2023-24 | 831 | 43 | 19.3:1 | 65% (542) |
| 2022-23 | 941 | 50 | 18.8:1 | 68% (642) |
| 2020-21 | 1,050 | 52 | 20.2:1 | 70% (733) |
| 2017-18 | 1,037 | 50.5 | 20.5:1 | 71% (736) |
| 2015-16 | 975 | 53 | 18.4:1 | 67% (654) |
| 2010-11 | 934 | 59 | 15.8:1 | 69% (641) |
| 2000-01 | 948 | 56 | 16.9:1 | 62% (586) |
| 1990-91 | 801 | 43 | 18.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southern Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (1,037 to 871); teachers down 13% (50.5 to 44).
About Southern Middle School
Southern Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle school in Somerset, Kentucky. A federal count lists 871 students at the school, in grades 6 through 8. Average enrollment for middle schools in Kentucky is about 558, so this school runs 56% bigger than that.
The 14 schools in Pulaski County enroll 7,729 students altogether, Southern Middle School among them.
About 87% of the student body at Southern Middle School is White. Other reported shares: 6% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 3% Asian. The school's diversity index is 24%, meaning two students picked at random have a 24% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 44 full-time-equivalent teachers at Southern Middle School in 2024-25, for a ratio of 19.8:1. That is higher than the 15.8:1 average for middle schools in Kentucky. The lunch program counts 65% of students at Southern Middle School as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. For comparison, public schools in Pulaski County average 64%.
allk12 grades Southern Middle School an A. The grade compares the school only with Kentucky public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Southern Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Kentucky schools: 53.5% actual against 41.0% predicted.
Pulaski County census figures show that the median household income is $51,898, roughly 18% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 19 public schools in Pulaski County, enrolling about 9,989 students in all.
The closest public school, Southern Elementary School, is about 0.2 miles from Southern Middle School. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Southern Middle School places 4th of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Locale data from NCES put Southern Middle School in a town far from an urbanized area (Town: Remote).
Enrollment at Southern Middle School dropped 17% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 1,050 to 871 students.
Discussions about Southern Middle School may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Pulaski County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,897
Census ACS
Median income
$51,898
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
19
9,989 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pulaski County
- Southwestern High SchoolHigh · 1,213 students
- Pulaski County High SchoolHigh · 1,113 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 611 students
- Oak Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 551 students
- Pulaski Elementary SchoolElementary · 535 students
Other schools in Somerset
- Southwestern High SchoolHigh · 1,213 students
- Pulaski County High SchoolHigh · 1,113 students
- Northern Middle SchoolMiddle · 797 students
- Hopkins Elementary SchoolElementary · 750 students
- Southern Elementary SchoolElementary · 611 students
- Oak Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 551 students
Other Southern Middle schools
8 other US public schools in 4 states are named Southern Middle. Southern Middle School is the largest of the 9.
- Southern Middle SchoolLexington, KY · 759 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 School0.2 mi · 611
- Southwestern High School2.7 mi · 1,213
- Oak Hill Elementary School2.9 mi · 551
- Burnside Elementary School3.0 mi · 414
- Eagle Academy3.5 mi · 38
- Memorial Education Center3.6 mi · 231
Frequently asked questions
About Southern Middle SchoolHow large is Southern Middle School?
Southern Middle School enrolls approximately 871 students in grades 06-08.
Is Southern Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southern Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southern Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southern Middle School is approximately 19.8:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southern Middle School?
At Southern Middle School, the student body is approximately 87% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Southern Middle School public or private?
Southern Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pulaski County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.