1
If you could change one rule at NORTHWEST JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
484
Middle
DISTRICT 462 · STATE 452
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERIDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 280291000569
Northwest Middle School
4400 32nd Street, Meridian, MS 39307 · (601) 484-4094 · Lauderdale County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL484 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 18% of Mississippi public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 Mississippi public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
484 students
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 80%
Community
1
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 | 135 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 166 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 183 | 38% |
Student demographics
18%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 62% · 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
MAAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
28.6%
MS avg 45.9% . +5.3pp since 2023
Math
26.3%
MS avg 52.8% . -0.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the MAAP, Mississippi's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Mississippi schools, those numbers are about 46 and 53. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
MAAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.6% | 26.3% |
| 2023-24 | 23.3% | 26.8% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAAP. 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
31.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.1%
based on MS schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% typical for Mississippi 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 Mississippi'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 Northwest Middle School
Northwest Middle School's state test result (31.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Middle School this school | 484 | 100.0% | 31.7% |
| Magnolia Middle School Meridian | 440 | 100.0% | 32.8% |
| Cardozo Middle School Jackson | 531 | 100.0% | 16.7% |
| Midtown Public Charter School Jackson | 420 | 100.0% | 30.9% |
| Columbus Middle School Columbus | 597 | 99.7% | 29.3% |
| Reimagine Prep Jackson | 457 | 100.0% | 29.5% |
Matched among Mississippi 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 Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Mississippi |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.7% | #148 of 176 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.3% | #157 of 181 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.6% | #128 of 181 ▲ 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 484 | #60 of 186 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.5:1 | #52 of 163 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 18.2% | #138 of 164 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #37 of 184 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.0% | #23 of 34 |
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
484
-29 (-6%) vs 2020
-22% since 1990-91, when it was 622
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 484 | 38.7 | 12.5:1 | 100% (484) |
| 2023-24 | 518 | 39.1 | 13.3:1 | 100% (518) |
| 2022-23 | 566 | 38.1 | 14.9:1 | 100% (566) |
| 2020-21 | 513 | 32 | 16.0:1 | 100% (513) |
| 2017-18 | 461 | 32.3 | 14.3:1 | 100% (461) |
| 2015-16 | 459 | 37 | 12.4:1 | 100% (459) |
| 2010-11 | 526 | 40 | 13.2:1 | 80% (422) |
| 2000-01 | 609 | 33 | 18.4:1 | 75% (456) |
| 1990-91 | 622 | 35 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest Middle School.
About Northwest Middle School
As a mid-sized middle school, Northwest Middle School serves students in Meridian, Mississippi. Students in grades 6 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 484 students.
The 9 schools of Meridian Public Schools, including Northwest Middle School, enroll 4,385 students.
At Northwest Middle School, 90% of students are Black. Other students are 4% Hispanic, 3% White, and 3% multiracial. That is higher than the 41% Black share among all Lauderdale County residents. The diversity index for Northwest Middle School is 18%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
For every teacher at Northwest Middle School, there are about 12.5 students; the school has 38.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, middle schools in Mississippi average 13.7:1. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 100%. For comparison, public schools in Lauderdale County average 75%.
Northwest Middle School holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 18% of Mississippi public middle schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 44.1% for Northwest Middle School. The school posts 31.7%, 12.4 points below the prediction.
In Lauderdale County, median household income comes to about $50,817, roughly 24% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 19%. The county's public schools total 24, with about 10,325 students.
Of the public schools around it, Northwest Middle School is closest to West Hills Elementary, about 0.1 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Northwest Middle School at 7th of 9.
Northwest Middle School is in a town far from an urbanized area, a location NCES labels Town: Remote.
In 2020-21, Northwest Middle School enrolled 513 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 484. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 16.0:1 in 2020-21 to 12.5:1 in 2024-25.
This page is set up for the Northwest Middle School community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Lauderdale County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
71,504
Census ACS
Median income
$50,817
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
19%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
10,325 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Meridian Public Schools
- Meridian High SchoolHigh · 1,253 students
- Carver Elementary SchoolElementary · 506 students
- Magnolia Middle SchoolMiddle · 440 students
- West Hills ElementaryElementary · 423 students
- Poplar Springs ElementaryElementary · 405 students
- Crestwood ElementaryElementary · 368 students
Other schools in Meridian
- Meridian High SchoolHigh · 1,253 students
- West Lauderdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 761 students
- Northeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 730 students
- Northeast High SchoolHigh · 608 students
- Southeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 562 students
- Clarkdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 527 students
Other Northwest Middle schools
13 other US public schools in 11 states are named Northwest Middle. Northwest Middle School is the 11th largest of the 14.
- Northwest Middle SchoolFlowood, MS · 1,352 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolJackson, MS · 242 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolCoralville, IA · 1,113 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolReading, PA · 821 students
- Northwest Middle SchoolKnoxville, TN · 798 students
Nearby schools
- West Hills Elementary0.1 mi · 423
- Poplar Springs Elementary1.2 mi · 405
- Meridian High School1.2 mi · 1,253
- Meridian PreK Academy1.4 mi · 142
- Carver Elementary School1.7 mi · 506
- Parkview Elementary1.8 mi · 364
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest Middle SchoolHow many students attend Northwest Middle School?
Northwest Middle School enrolls approximately 484 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Northwest Middle School serve?
Northwest Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Northwest Middle School?
Approximately 12.5:1 students per teacher at Northwest Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Northwest Middle School?
At Northwest Middle School, the student body is approximately 3% White, 4% Hispanic, 90% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Northwest Middle School in?
Northwest Middle School is part of Meridian Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.