1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Northwest Kidder Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
786
Middle
DISTRICT 701 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTHWEST COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262601006253
Northwest Kidder Middle School
6700 RIVES JUNCTION RD, JACKSON, MI 49201 · (517) 817-4703 · Jackson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL786 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
352 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 55%
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 | 286 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 256 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 244 | 31% |
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 56% · 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
Northwest Kidder Middle School→Northwest High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Northwest Community Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
33.2%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
17.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 33 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
29.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 46% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Northwest Kidder Middle School
Northwest Kidder Middle School's state test result (29.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Kidder Middle School this school | 786 | 44.8% | 29.4% |
| Swartz Creek Middle School SWARTZ CREEK | 758 | 43.9% | 38.6% |
| Mt Pleasant Middle School MOUNT PLEASANT | 666 | 44.4% | 39.0% |
| White Pines Intermediate School GRAND HAVEN | 740 | 45.1% | 56.1% |
| Kennedy Middle School SAINT CLAIR SHORES | 710 | 42.7% | 39.6% |
| Flushing Middle School FLUSHING | 636 | 47.8% | 42.5% |
Matched among Michigan 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 Northwest Kidder Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Jackson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 29.4% | #354 of 397 | #6 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.9% | #363 of 380 | #6 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 33.2% | #299 of 377 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 786 | #61 of 491 | #1 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #68 of 436 | #2 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 43.2% | #169 of 437 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.8% | #255 of 477 | #4 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.4% | #327 of 339 | #6 of 6 |
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
786
-44 (-5%) vs 2020
+11% since 1990-91, when it was 710
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 786 | 51.6 | 15.3:1 | 45% (352) |
| 2023-24 | 779 | 51.3 | 15.2:1 | 54% (419) |
| 2022-23 | 790 | 53.4 | 14.8:1 | 50% (393) |
| 2020-21 | 830 | 46 | 18.0:1 | 62% (513) |
| 2017-18 | 797 | 42 | 19.0:1 | 51% (407) |
| 2015-16 | 686 | 37 | 18.5:1 | 44% (304) |
| 2010-11 | 670 | 40 | 16.8:1 | 49% (329) |
| 2000-01 | 871 | 48 | 18.1:1 | 25% (214) |
| 1990-91 | 710 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest Kidder Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (797 to 786); teachers up 23% (42 to 51.6).
About Northwest Kidder Middle School
Northwest Kidder Middle School is a middle school in JACKSON, Michigan, according to federal school records. The school runs grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 786 students. Middle schools in Michigan average about 502 students, which makes this school 57% bigger than average.
Within Northwest Community Schools, Northwest Kidder Middle School is one of 5 schools. The district enrolls 3,507 students.
The largest group at Northwest Kidder Middle School is White students, at 74%. Other students are 12% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 5% Black. By comparison, Jackson County residents are about 83% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 43%.
A staff of 51.6 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 15.3:1. The average for middle schools in Michigan, 17.5:1, is higher. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 45%. Compared with the 53% average for public schools in Jackson County, the school's rate is lower.
Schools in Michigan with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to post an average proficiency rate across its state test results near 46.4%. Northwest Kidder Middle School posts 29.4%, 17.1 points below that, which places it in the bottom 10% statewide on BeatsExpectations.
In Jackson County, median household income comes to about $66,073, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Jackson County counts 68 public schools with about 21,681 students.
Northwest High School is about 0.2 miles from Northwest Kidder Middle School, the shortest distance to any other public school. The five-mile area around Northwest Kidder Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools.
The NCES locale for Northwest Kidder Middle School is Rural: Fringe, which covers schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 786, compared with 830 in 2020-21. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 15.3:1, from 18.0:1.
The allk12 page for Northwest Kidder Middle School 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.
Jackson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
160,060
Census ACS
Median income
$66,073
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
68
21,681 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Northwest Community Schools
- Northwest High SchoolHigh · 958 students
- Northwest Early Elementary SchoolElementary · 848 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolElementary · 758 students
- Northwest ConnectHigh · 157 students
Other schools in JACKSON
- Jackson High SchoolHigh · 989 students
- Northwest High SchoolHigh · 958 students
- Northwest Early Elementary SchoolElementary · 848 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolElementary · 758 students
- Middle School at ParksideMiddle · 750 students
- Paragon Charter AcademyElementary · 627 students
Nearby schools
- Northwest High School0.2 mi · 958
- Northwest Connect0.3 mi · 157
- Northwest Elementary School3.4 mi · 758
- Northwest Early Elementary School3.5 mi · 848
- Da Vinci Schools3.5 mi · 322
- Lyle A Torrant Center3.9 mi · 191
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest Kidder Middle SchoolHow large is Northwest Kidder Middle School?
Northwest Kidder Middle School enrolls approximately 786 students in grades 06-08.
Is Northwest Kidder Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Northwest Kidder Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northwest Kidder Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Northwest Kidder Middle School is approximately 15.3:1 (52 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Northwest Kidder Middle School?
Student demographics at Northwest Kidder Middle School are roughly 74% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
What district is Northwest Kidder Middle School in?
Northwest Kidder Middle School is part of Northwest Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.