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What's the biggest difference between Ring Lardner Middle School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
510
Middle
DISTRICT 282 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NILES COMMUNITY SCHOOLS·NCES 262556006208
Ring Lardner Middle School
801 N 17TH ST, NILES, MI 49120 · (269) 683-6610 · Berrien County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL510 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Michigan public middle schools
- CTest 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 Michigan public middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.0:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
305 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 | 191 | 37% |
| Grade 7 | 150 | 29% |
| Grade 8 | 169 | 33% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
42.0%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
28.4%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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
35.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.8%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Ring Lardner Middle School
Ring Lardner Middle School's state test result (35.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ring Lardner Middle School this school | 510 | 59.8% | 35.1% |
| Central Middle School PORT HURON | 599 | 63.4% | 18.1% |
| Monroe Middle School MONROE | 674 | 63.4% | 26.2% |
| Baseline Middle School SOUTH HAVEN | 377 | 59.4% | 31.9% |
| Davidson Middle School SOUTHGATE | 663 | 62.0% | 34.4% |
| Pennfield Middle School BATTLE CREEK | 471 | 57.7% | 22.0% |
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 Ring Lardner Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Berrien County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.1% | #287 of 397 | #8 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #272 of 380 | #7 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #187 of 377 | #6 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 510 | #241 of 491 | #3 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.5:1 | #217 of 436 | #7 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.6% | #106 of 437 | #3 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.8% | #148 of 477 | #7 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.3% | #72 of 339 | #5 of 10 |
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
510
-67 (-12%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 627
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
was 19.9:1
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 | 510 | 29.2 | 17.5:1 | 60% (305) |
| 2023-24 | 537 | 28.9 | 18.6:1 | 68% (366) |
| 2022-23 | 554 | 26.8 | 20.7:1 | 66% (367) |
| 2020-21 | 577 | 29 | 19.9:1 | 61% (354) |
| 2017-18 | 648 | 32.1 | 20.2:1 | 62% (402) |
| 2015-16 | 434 | 21 | 20.7:1 | 65% (280) |
| 2010-11 | 544 | 31 | 17.6:1 | 47% (253) |
| 2000-01 | 625 | 40 | 15.6:1 | 31% (193) |
| 1990-91 | 627 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ring Lardner Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (648 to 510); teachers down 9% (32.1 to 29.2).
About Ring Lardner Middle School
Ring Lardner Middle School is one of the public schools in NILES, Michigan. It is a mid-sized middle-grades school. It offers grades 6 through 8 and has 510 students enrolled.
In Niles Community Schools, 11 schools enroll a combined 3,107 students.
About 65% of the student body at Ring Lardner Middle School is White. Enrollment also includes 12% multiracial, 11% Black, and 11% Hispanic. Among people living in Berrien County, the White share is about 74%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 54, compared with 70 nationally.
The school's 29.2 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.5:1. The average for middle schools in Michigan is about 17.5:1. At Ring Lardner Middle School, 60% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
Ring Lardner Middle School earns a C on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 33% of Michigan public middle schools.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 35.1%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 39.8%.
For Berrien County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $65,425, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 31%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. The county has 75 public schools and about 21,027 students.
About 0.3 miles separate Ring Lardner Middle School from the closest public school, Niles Senior High School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell 12%. The ratio of students to teachers went from 19.9:1 to 17.5:1 over the same years.
Ring Lardner Middle School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Berrien County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
153,288
Census ACS
Median income
$65,425
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
75
21,027 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Niles Community Schools
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- HowardEllis Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Eastside Connections SchoolElementary · 403 students
- Niles Cedar LaneHigh · 134 students
- WAY NilesHigh · 95 students
Other schools in NILES
- Niles Senior High SchoolHigh · 828 students
- HowardEllis Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Ballard Elementary SchoolElementary · 516 students
- Eastside Connections SchoolElementary · 403 students
- Brandywine Elementary SchoolElementary · 379 students
- Brandywine Senior High SchoolHigh · 366 students
Nearby schools
- Niles Senior High School0.3 mi · 828
- Eastside Connections School0.5 mi · 403
- Niles Cedar Lane0.9 mi · 134
- WAY Niles0.9 mi · 95
- Niles Virtual School0.9 mi · 18
- Niles Comm Schools Adult Education1.1 mi · 24
Frequently asked questions
About Ring Lardner Middle SchoolHow large is Ring Lardner Middle School?
Ring Lardner Middle School enrolls approximately 510 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Ring Lardner Middle School serve?
Ring Lardner Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ring Lardner Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ring Lardner Middle School is approximately 17.5:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ring Lardner Middle School?
At Ring Lardner Middle School, the student body is approximately 65% White, 11% Hispanic, 11% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Is Ring Lardner Middle School public or private?
Ring Lardner Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Niles Community Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.