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What's the one class at Western Heights Middle every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
883
Middle
DISTRICT 700 · STATE 764
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WASHINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 240066001293
Western Heights Middle
1300 Marshall St, Hagerstown, MD 21740 · (301) 766-8403 · Washington County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL883 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% of Maryland public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats 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 Maryland public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
73 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 14.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
617 students
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 54%
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 | 310 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 266 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 307 | 35% |
Student demographics
74%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 73% · 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
MCAP 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 3-4)English Language Arts
43.5%
MD avg 50.6% . -4.6pp since 2023
Math
17.2%
MD avg 34.8% . +6.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the MCAP, Maryland's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Maryland schools, those numbers are about 51 and 35. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
MCAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.5% | 17.2% |
| 2023-24 | 48.1% | 11.2% |
% Proficient (Levels 3-4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAP. 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
30.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.9%
based on MD schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% typical for Maryland 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 Maryland'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 Heights Middle
Western Heights Middle's state test result (30.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Heights Middle this school | 883 | 69.9% | 30.0% |
| E. Russell Hicks Middle Hagerstown | 841 | 68.8% | 42.4% |
| Stemmers Run Middle Baltimore | 831 | 70.2% | 17.5% |
| Spring Ridge Middle Lexington Park | 913 | 63.7% | 31.8% |
| General John Stricker Middle Baltimore | 713 | 73.4% | 15.2% |
| Northern Middle Hagerstown | 841 | 61.2% | 38.8% |
Matched among Maryland 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 Heights Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Maryland | In Washington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.0% | #142 of 223 | #7 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.2% | #153 of 223 ▲ 30 | #7 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.5% | #146 of 223 ▼ 35 | #7 of 7 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 883 | #70 of 230 | #1 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #25 of 225 | #1 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.4% | #12 of 225 | #1 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.9% | #43 of 227 | #1 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.7% | #76 of 95 | 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
883
-67 (-7%) vs 2020
+98% since 1990-91, when it was 446
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 16.4:1
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 | 883 | 73.1 | 12.1:1 | 70% (617) |
| 2023-24 | 887 | 68.7 | 12.9:1 | 78% (690) |
| 2022-23 | 903 | 58.5 | 15.4:1 | 77% (699) |
| 2020-21 | 950 | 58 | 16.4:1 | 69% (658) |
| 2017-18 | 860 | 45.6 | 18.9:1 | 57% (490) |
| 2015-16 | 740 | 47 | 15.7:1 | 66% (485) |
| 2010-11 | 671 | 65 | 10.3:1 | 70% (467) |
| 2000-01 | 723 | 47 | 15.4:1 | 47% (342) |
| 1990-91 | 446 | 36 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Heights Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (860 to 883); teachers up 60% (45.6 to 73.1).
About Western Heights Middle
Western Heights Middle is a middle school in Hagerstown, Maryland, according to federal school records. The school offers grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 883 students.
Washington County Public Schools is responsible for 43 schools, Western Heights Middle included, with 23,320 students in all.
No group is above 50% at Western Heights Middle; the largest is White, at 34%. It is also 25% Black, 22% Hispanic, 16% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Washington County's residents are about 75% White, 41 points above the school's share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 74%.
With 73.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 12.1:1. Middle schools in Maryland average 14.3:1, 2.2 more students per teacher than here. Roughly 70% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 58% average among public schools in Washington County.
Western Heights Middle holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 54% of Maryland public middle schools.
Schools in Maryland with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 32.9%. Western Heights Middle scores 30.0%.
In Washington County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $77,747, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. There are 44 public schools in the county, enrolling about 23,320, Western Heights Middle among them.
About 0.1 miles separate Western Heights Middle from the closest public school, Marshall Street School. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Western Heights Middle at 7th of 7.
NCES describes the area around Western Heights Middle as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 883, compared with 950 in 2020-21. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (12.1:1) than in 2020-21 (16.4:1).
People who know Western Heights Middle can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Washington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
155,709
Census ACS
Median income
$77,747
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
23,320 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Washington County Public Schools
- South Hagerstown HighHigh · 1,690 students
- North Hagerstown HighHigh · 1,583 students
- Williamsport HighHigh · 1,061 students
- E. Russell Hicks MiddleMiddle · 841 students
- Northern MiddleMiddle · 841 students
- Boonsboro HighHigh · 838 students
Other schools in Hagerstown
- South Hagerstown HighHigh · 1,690 students
- North Hagerstown HighHigh · 1,583 students
- E. Russell Hicks MiddleMiddle · 841 students
- Northern MiddleMiddle · 841 students
- Pangborn ElementaryElementary · 749 students
- Salem Avenue ElementaryElementary · 713 students
Other Western Heights Middle schools
One other US public school is named Western Heights Middle. Western Heights Middle is the largest of the 2.
- Western Heights Middle SchoolOklahoma City, OK · 370 students
Nearby schools
- Marshall Street School0.1 mi · 47
- Washington County Job Development Center0.1 mi · 38
- Salem Avenue Elementary0.5 mi · 713
- North Hagerstown High0.7 mi · 1,583
- Fountaindale Elementary0.8 mi · 413
- Northern Middle0.9 mi · 841
Frequently asked questions
About Western Heights MiddleHow large is Western Heights Middle?
Western Heights Middle enrolls approximately 883 students in grades 06-08.
Is Western Heights Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Western Heights Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Western Heights Middle have?
Western Heights Middle employs 73 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.1:1.
How diverse is Western Heights Middle?
Western Heights Middle reports a student body of 34% White, 22% Hispanic, 25% Black, 2% Asian, 16% Two or more.
Who oversees Western Heights Middle?
Western Heights Middle is overseen by Washington County Public Schools in Washington County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.