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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
410
Middle
DISTRICT 431 · STATE 547
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AYER SHIRLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 250054202737
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School
1 Hospital Road, Shirley, MA 01464 · (978) 772-8600 · Middlesex County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL410 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of Massachusetts public middle schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- BThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Massachusetts public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.0:1 · STATE 11.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
4
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 | 140 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 132 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 138 | 34% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 65% · 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
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School→Ayer Shirley Regional High School
Based on grade levels within Ayer Shirley School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCAS 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
46.0%
MA avg 43.8% . +0.0pp since 2016
Math
40.0%
MA avg 42.2% . -5.0pp since 2016
What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Massachusetts schools, those numbers are about 44 and 42. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2016, while math scores are down about 5 points.
MCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.0% | 40.0% |
| 2023-24 | 40.0% | 35.0% |
| 2022-23 | 44.0% | 38.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 35.0% |
| 2020-21 | 43.0% | 26.0% |
| 2018-19 | 49.0% | 47.0% |
| 2017-18 | 40.0% | 41.0% |
| 2016-17 | 46.0% | 45.0% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Massachusetts | In Middlesex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #142 of 304 ▲ 18 | #47 of 70 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #128 of 304 ▲ 21 | #46 of 70 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.0pp | #102 of 299 | #32 of 69 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 410 | #217 of 310 | #61 of 72 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.4:1 | #195 of 296 | #52 of 70 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.2% | #140 of 296 | #48 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.8% | #26 of 82 | #8 of 27 |
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
410
0 (0%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
was 12.4:1
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 | 410 | 33 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 379 | 33.2 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 367 | 33.8 | 10.9:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 410 | 33 | 12.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 370 | 31.5 | 11.8:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 379 | 29 | 13.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (370 to 410); teachers up 5% (31.5 to 33).
About Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is a small middle school located in Shirley, Massachusetts. It educates 410 students in grades 6 through 8. The school's enrollment is 25% smaller than the 547 average for middle schools in Massachusetts.
Ayer Shirley School District enrolls 1,723 students in 4 schools, including Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School.
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is 70% White by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 15% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% multiracial, and 2% Asian. The White share in Middlesex County as a whole is similar, at about 67%. Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School's diversity index is 48%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 12.4:1, with 33 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has more students per teacher than the 11.5:1 average for middle schools in Massachusetts.
The allk12 Grade for Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is B. Compared with Massachusetts public middle schools, the school scored higher than 60% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Middlesex County has about 1,638,365 residents, and the median household income is $130,847, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 60%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Besides Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School, Middlesex County has 385 other public schools.
The closest public school to Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is Lura A. White Elementary School, about 1.0 miles away. Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
NCES assigns Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 410 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 410.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Middlesex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,638,365
Census ACS
Median income
$130,847
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
60%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
386
215,896 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ayer Shirley School District
- Page Hilltop Elementary SchoolElementary · 539 students
- Ayer Shirley Regional High SchoolHigh · 417 students
- Lura A. White Elementary SchoolElementary · 357 students
Nearby schools
- Lura A. White Elementary School1.0 mi · 357
- Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School1.7 mi · 388
- Page Hilltop Elementary School3.4 mi · 539
- Ayer Shirley Regional High School3.5 mi · 417
- Sky View Middle School4.0 mi · 869
- The Bromfield Middle School4.3 mi · 244
Frequently asked questions
About Ayer Shirley Regional Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School?
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School enrolls approximately 410 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School serve?
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School?
Approximately 12.4:1 students per teacher at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School?
At Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School, the student body is approximately 70% White, 15% Hispanic, 7% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School public or private?
Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ayer Shirley School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.