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How has Robert L Nickels Intermediate School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
705
Middle
DISTRICT 717 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BYRON CENTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 260756001129
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School
3100 84TH ST SW, BYRON CENTER, MI 49315 · (616) 878-6400 · Kent County
GRADES 03–07MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL705 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 95% of Michigan public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+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
19.2:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.8:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
161 students
DISTRICT 23% · 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 5 | 372 | 53% |
| Grade 6 | 333 | 47% |
Student demographics
41%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
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
73.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
67.5%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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
67.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.2%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% 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 Robert L Nickels Intermediate School
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School's state test result (67.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert L Nickels Intermediate School this school | 705 | 22.8% | 67.4% |
| Byron Center West Middle School BYRON CENTER | 729 | 23.3% | 77.8% |
| Portage Central Middle School PORTAGE | 719 | 18.9% | 53.2% |
| Upton Middle School SAINT JOSEPH | 690 | 20.7% | 58.0% |
| Haslett Middle School HASLETT | 660 | 23.2% | 58.8% |
| Kenneth T Beagle Middle School GRAND LEDGE | 835 | 23.6% | 56.2% |
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 Robert L Nickels Intermediate School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #31 of 397 | #10 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.5% | #21 of 380 | #5 of 26 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.5% | #6 of 377 | #3 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 705 | #101 of 491 | #8 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.2:1 | #362 of 436 | #27 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.3% | #179 of 437 | #19 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.8% | #398 of 477 | #24 of 36 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.5% | #45 of 101 | #7 of 11 |
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
705
+60 (+9%) vs 2020
+81% since 2000-01, when it was 389
Student : Teacher
19.2:1
was 19.0:1
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 | 705 | 36.8 | 19.2:1 | 23% (161) |
| 2023-24 | 681 | 34.6 | 19.7:1 | 23% (158) |
| 2022-23 | 702 | 31 | 22.6:1 | 24% (166) |
| 2020-21 | 645 | 34 | 19.0:1 | 21% (138) |
| 2017-18 | 656 | 30.6 | 21.5:1 | 29% (189) |
| 2015-16 | 612 | 30 | 20.4:1 | 24% (146) |
| 2010-11 | 489 | 24 | 20.4:1 | 28% (136) |
| 2000-01 | 389 | 18 | 21.6:1 | 15% (60) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Robert L Nickels Intermediate School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (656 to 705); teachers up 20% (30.6 to 36.8).
About Robert L Nickels Intermediate School
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is a middle school in BYRON CENTER, Michigan, and it is part of Byron Center Public Schools. Students in grades 3 through 7 attend, and enrollment is 705 students. The school's enrollment is 40% above the 502 average for middle schools in Michigan.
Byron Center Public Schools is the district for Robert L Nickels Intermediate School. It has 7 schools and 4,546 students.
White students are the majority at Robert L Nickels Intermediate School, with 75% of enrollment. It is also 8% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 7% Asian. That is close to the 73% White share among all Kent County residents. Pick two students at random and there is a 41% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The ratio of students to teachers is 19.2:1, with 36.8 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has more students per teacher than the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is 23%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Kent County is 47%.
The allk12 Grade for Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is A+. Compared with Michigan public middle schools, the school scored higher than 95% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is +11.2 points: 67.4% actual, 56.2% predicted.
Kent County has these Census figures: the median household income is $82,631, about 41% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. In all, Kent County has 239 public schools and roughly 97,253 students.
The closest other public school is Byron Center West Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is behind the 73.2% nearby average, ranking 4th of 7.
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.
Federal data show a 9% enrollment rise, from 645 in 2020-21 to 705 in 2024-25.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Byron Center Public Schools
- Byron Center High SchoolHigh · 1,387 students
- Byron Center West Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Marshall Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
- Brown Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Countryside Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
- Heritage Elementary SchoolElementary · 398 students
Other schools in BYRON CENTER
- Byron Center High SchoolHigh · 1,387 students
- Cross Creek Charter AcademyElementary · 809 students
- Byron Center West Middle SchoolMiddle · 729 students
- Marshall Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
- Brown Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Countryside Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
Nearby schools
- Byron Center West Middle School0.3 mi · 729
- Heritage Elementary School1.2 mi · 398
- Brown Elementary School1.2 mi · 438
- Byron Center High School2.1 mi · 1,387
- Byron Center Charter School2.7 mi · 199
- Marshall Elementary School3.2 mi · 463
Frequently asked questions
About Robert L Nickels Intermediate SchoolHow large is Robert L Nickels Intermediate School?
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School enrolls approximately 705 students in grades 03-07.
Is Robert L Nickels Intermediate School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is a middle school covering grades 03-07.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Robert L Nickels Intermediate School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is approximately 19.2:1 (37 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Robert L Nickels Intermediate School?
At Robert L Nickels Intermediate School, the student body is approximately 75% White, 8% Hispanic, 1% Black, 7% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Robert L Nickels Intermediate School in?
Robert L Nickels Intermediate School is part of Byron Center Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.