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What clubs or activities at Portage West Middle School are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
717
Middle
DISTRICT 682 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PORTAGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262895006496
Portage West Middle School
7145 MOORS BRIDGE RD, PORTAGE, MI 49024 · (269) 323-5800 · Kalamazoo County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL717 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of Michigan public middle schools
- A-Test 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 Michigan public middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
17%
125 students
DISTRICT 27% · 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 | 232 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 242 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 243 | 34% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · 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
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
57.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
55.0%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
57.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.6%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% typical for Michigan 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 Michigan'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 Portage West Middle School
Portage West Middle School's state test result (57.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portage West Middle School this school | 717 | 17.4% | 57.3% |
| Pioneer Middle School PLYMOUTH | 827 | 16.3% | 65.5% |
| Northern Hills Middle School GRAND RAPIDS | 515 | 15.3% | 69.8% |
| Northern Trails 56 School GRAND RAPIDS | 520 | 17.7% | 62.5% |
| Slauson Middle School ANN ARBOR | 729 | 21.3% | 68.4% |
| Centennial Middle School SOUTH LYON | 898 | 17.9% | 52.1% |
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 Portage West Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kalamazoo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.3% | #73 of 397 | #1 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.0% | #55 of 380 | #1 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #73 of 377 | #1 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 717 | #93 of 491 | #6 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #300 of 436 | #9 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.8% | #100 of 437 | #7 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.4% | #432 of 477 | #12 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.2% | #315 of 339 | #7 of 8 |
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
717
+41 (+6%) vs 2020
+2% since 1990-91, when it was 705
Student : Teacher
18.4:1
was 22.5:1
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 | 717 | 39 | 18.4:1 | 17% (125) |
| 2023-24 | 694 | 35.7 | 19.4:1 | 21% (146) |
| 2022-23 | 679 | 33.7 | 20.1:1 | 20% (134) |
| 2020-21 | 676 | 30 | 22.5:1 | 18% (122) |
| 2017-18 | 733 | 32.3 | 22.7:1 | 18% (134) |
| 2015-16 | 683 | 29 | 23.6:1 | 12% (84) |
| 2010-11 | 648 | 32 | 20.3:1 | 12% (77) |
| 2000-01 | 791 | 45 | 17.6:1 | 7% (53) |
| 1990-91 | 705 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Portage West Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (733 to 717); teachers up 21% (32.3 to 39).
About Portage West Middle School
In PORTAGE, Michigan, Portage West Middle School is a mid-sized middle school. In all, 717 students attend the school in grades 6 through 8. That puts enrollment 43% above the 502-student average for middle schools in Michigan.
Portage West Middle School is among 14 schools run by Portage Public Schools, which serves 8,479 students.
About 65% of the student body at Portage West Middle School is White. Smaller groups are 11% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, and 7% Black. County-wide, 76% of Kalamazoo County residents are White. A diversity index of 55% means there is a 55% chance two randomly chosen students at Portage West Middle School are from different groups.
Based on 39 full-time-equivalent teachers, Portage West Middle School has a ratio of 18.4:1. Across middle schools in Michigan, the average ratio is 17.5:1. Income data for the school show 17% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 28 points below the 45% average for public schools in Kalamazoo County.
Portage West Middle School holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 75% of Michigan public middle schools.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 57.3%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 58.6%.
The county, Kalamazoo County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $72,532, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 41% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. The county has 93 public schools and about 34,151 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Moorsbridge Elementary School, is about 0.1 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. On average proficiency, Portage West Middle School is 2nd of 8 nearby schools with test data.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Small.
The school's enrollment increased 6% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Students per teacher dropped from 22.5 in 2020-21 to 18.4 in 2024-25.
Portage West Middle School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Kalamazoo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
262,375
Census ACS
Median income
$72,532
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
93
34,151 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Portage Public Schools
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
- 12th Street ElementaryElementary · 589 students
Other schools in PORTAGE
- Portage Central High SchoolHigh · 1,391 students
- Portage Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,194 students
- Portage Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 719 students
- Portage North Middle SchoolMiddle · 609 students
- Moorsbridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 591 students
- 12th Street ElementaryElementary · 589 students
Nearby schools
- Moorsbridge Elementary School0.1 mi · 591
- Amberly Elementary School0.6 mi · 513
- Haverhill Elementary School1.1 mi · 378
- Woodland Elementary School1.1 mi · 348
- 12th Street Elementary1.1 mi · 589
- Oakland Academy1.2 mi · 149
Frequently asked questions
About Portage West Middle SchoolHow many students attend Portage West Middle School?
Portage West Middle School enrolls approximately 717 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Portage West Middle School serve?
Portage West Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Portage West Middle School have?
Portage West Middle School employs 39 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Portage West Middle School?
Student demographics at Portage West Middle School are roughly 65% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% Black, 11% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Portage West Middle School?
Portage West Middle School is overseen by Portage Public Schools in Kalamazoo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.