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What advice would you give to incoming students at Western Middle School for the Arts?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
665
Middle
DISTRICT 761 · STATE 558
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JEFFERSON COUNTY·NCES 210299000785
Western Middle School for the Arts
2201 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40212 · (502) 485-8345 · Jefferson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL665 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% of Kentucky public middle schools
- BTest 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
15.8:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
393 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 | 259 | 39% |
| Grade 7 | 205 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 201 | 30% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
49.0%
KY avg 47.9%
Math
37.3%
KY avg 42.8%
What this means: On the KSA (K-PREP), Kentucky's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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
41.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.1%
based on KY schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Western Middle School for the Arts
Western Middle School for the Arts's state test result (41.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Middle School for the Arts this school | 665 | 59.1% | 41.3% |
| Paducah Middle School Paducah | 632 | 60.8% | 36.6% |
| Jefferson County Traditional Middle Louisville | 813 | 53.1% | 36.9% |
| Farnsley Middle Louisville | 919 | 68.7% | 26.8% |
| North Middle School Radcliff | 567 | 60.5% | 27.7% |
| Conway Middle Louisville | 678 | 67.8% | 12.1% |
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 Western Middle School for the Arts ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Kentucky | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.3% | #97 of 216 | #6 of 22 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.3% | #131 of 216 | #7 of 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #90 of 217 | #5 of 23 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 665 | #73 of 221 | #15 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #98 of 210 | #13 of 24 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.5% | #40 of 210 | #21 of 24 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.1% | #108 of 219 | #14 of 24 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.1% | #35 of 49 | N/A |
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
665
-26 (-4%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 820
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
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 | 665 | 42.2 | 15.8:1 | 59% (393) |
| 2023-24 | 618 | 36 | 17.2:1 | 56% (347) |
| 2022-23 | 650 | 37.8 | 17.2:1 | 60% (393) |
| 2020-21 | 691 | 46 | 15.0:1 | 58% (401) |
| 2017-18 | 627 | 40 | 15.7:1 | 66% (413) |
| 2015-16 | 574 | 40 | 14.3:1 | 72% (415) |
| 2010-11 | 349 | 35 | 10.0:1 | 96% (336) |
| 2000-01 | 869 | 50 | 17.4:1 | 78% (676) |
| 1990-91 | 820 | 54 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Middle School for the Arts.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (627 to 665); teachers up 6% (40 to 42.2).
About Western Middle School for the Arts
Western Middle School for the Arts is a mid-sized middle school located in Louisville, Kentucky. The school has 665 students in 2024-25 across grades 6 through 8.
Across its 167 schools, Jefferson County enrolls 95,124 students. Western Middle School for the Arts is one of those schools.
Black students account for 50% of enrollment at Western Middle School for the Arts, more than any other group. Other students are 34% White, 9% Hispanic, and 6% multiracial. By comparison, Jefferson County residents are about 21% Black. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Western Middle School for the Arts scores 63%.
Western Middle School for the Arts lists 42.2 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 15.8 students per teacher. It is about the same as the 15.8:1 average for middle schools in Kentucky. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 59% of the student body. That is in line with the 61% average for public schools in Jefferson County.
Western Middle School for the Arts earns a B- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 54% of Kentucky public middle schools.
Western Middle School for the Arts sits between the top and bottom 10% of Kentucky schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 41.3% and a predicted 43.1%.
In Jefferson County, the median household earns about $69,866 a year, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Jefferson County has 175 public schools with about 95,579 students, including Western Middle School for the Arts.
Measured in a straight line, Byck Elementary is about 0.4 miles from Western Middle School for the Arts. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Western Middle School for the Arts is 1st of 7 on proficiency.
Federal data place Western Middle School for the Arts in the City: Large locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment fell by 26 students, from 691 to 665.
The allk12 page for Western Middle School for the Arts lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
783,022
Census ACS
Median income
$69,866
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
175
95,579 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jefferson County
- Ballard HighHigh · 2,148 students
- duPont Manual HighHigh · 1,899 students
- Marion C. Moore SchoolHigh · 1,892 students
- Eastern HighHigh · 1,790 students
- Pleasure Ridge Park HighHigh · 1,777 students
- Louisville Male HighHigh · 1,763 students
Other schools in Louisville
- Ballard HighHigh · 2,148 students
- duPont Manual HighHigh · 1,899 students
- Marion C. Moore SchoolHigh · 1,892 students
- Pleasure Ridge Park HighHigh · 1,777 students
- Louisville Male HighHigh · 1,763 students
- Southern HighHigh · 1,725 students
Nearby schools
- Byck Elementary0.4 mi · 272
- Atkinson Academy0.7 mi · 462
- Grace M. James Academy of Excellence0.9 mi · 440
- Dr. William H. Perry Elementary School1.0 mi · 427
- Coleridge-Taylor Montessori Elementary1.1 mi · 315
- Central High Magnet Career Academy1.2 mi · 1,256
Frequently asked questions
About Western Middle School for the ArtsWhat is the total enrollment at Western Middle School for the Arts?
Western Middle School for the Arts enrolls approximately 665 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Western Middle School for the Arts serve?
Western Middle School for the Arts serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Western Middle School for the Arts have?
Western Middle School for the Arts employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Western Middle School for the Arts?
Student demographics at Western Middle School for the Arts are roughly 34% White, 9% Hispanic, 50% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Western Middle School for the Arts public or private?
Western Middle School for the Arts is a public K-12 school, overseen by Jefferson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.