1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at SOUTH MIDDLE right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
596
Middle
DISTRICT 579 · STATE 461
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOPLIN SCHOOLS·NCES 291635002429
SOUTH MIDDLE
900 E 50TH ST, JOPLIN, MO 64802 · (417) 625-5250 · Newton County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL596 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 73% of Missouri public middle schools
- BTest 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.
- A-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Missouri public middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
341 students
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 54%
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 | 200 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 215 | 36% |
| Grade 8 | 181 | 30% |
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 52% · 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
MAP 2024-25 . % Proficient + AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
43.7%
MO avg 44.9% . +7.9pp since 2021
Math
44.5%
MO avg 43.8% . +3.6pp since 2021
What this means: On the MAP, Missouri's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 45 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Missouri schools, those numbers are about 45 and 44. Reading and writing scores are up about 8 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Advanced | Proficient | Basic | Below Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 18.0% | 25.7% | 37.8% | 18.2% |
| Math | 20.1% | 24.4% | 31.8% | 23.5% |
Share of tested students at each MAP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
MAP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.7% | 44.5% |
| 2023-24 | 37.9% | 47.5% |
| 2022-23 | 39.1% | 42.0% |
| 2021-22 | 35.8% | 40.9% |
% Proficient + Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MAP. 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
44.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.5%
based on MO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% typical for Missouri 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 Missouri'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 SOUTH MIDDLE
SOUTH MIDDLE's state test result (44.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTH MIDDLE this school | 596 | 57.2% | 44.6% |
| HICKORY HILLS MIDDLE SPRINGFIELD | 456 | 52.4% | 51.8% |
| CARVER MIDDLE SPRINGFIELD | 618 | 59.5% | 41.6% |
| WEBB CITY MIDDLE WEBB CITY | 681 | 49.8% | 50.3% |
| BUCHANAN INTERMEDIATE BRANSON | 465 | 57.6% | 50.9% |
| BRANSON JR. HIGH BRANSON | 694 | 59.7% | 49.4% |
Matched among Missouri 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 SOUTH MIDDLE ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Missouri | In Newton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.6% | #144 of 379 | #2 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.5% | #186 of 380 ▼ 48 | #3 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.7% | #150 of 380 ▲ 61 | #3 of 6 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +5.8pp | #106 of 364 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 596 | #118 of 397 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.2:1 | #230 of 321 | #4 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.8% | #89 of 321 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.2% | #143 of 379 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.7% | #60 of 91 | N/A |
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
596
-4 (-1%) vs 2020
-44% since 1990-91, when it was 1,066
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 596 | 41.9 | 14.2:1 | 57% (341) |
| 2023-24 | 575 | 42 | 13.7:1 | 47% (272) |
| 2022-23 | 573 | 42 | 13.6:1 | 47% (271) |
| 2020-21 | 600 | 42 | 14.3:1 | 49% (296) |
| 2017-18 | 564 | 43.9 | 12.8:1 | 54% (306) |
| 2015-16 | 604 | 44 | 13.7:1 | 49% (298) |
| 2010-11 | 651 | 46 | 14.2:1 | 45% (296) |
| 2000-01 | 684 | 48 | 14.3:1 | 42% (285) |
| 1990-91 | 1,066 | 63 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for SOUTH MIDDLE.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (564 to 596); teachers down 5% (43.9 to 41.9).
About SOUTH MIDDLE
SOUTH MIDDLE is a mid-sized middle school with an address in JOPLIN, Missouri. The school teaches grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 596 students. That is 29% above the average of about 461 students for middle schools in Missouri.
JOPLIN SCHOOLS, which runs SOUTH MIDDLE, has 15 schools and 7,873 students.
The largest group at SOUTH MIDDLE is White students, at 67%. Other groups make up 12% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 2% Asian. County-wide, 81% of Newton County residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 52%.
The school's 41.9 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2:1. Middle schools in Missouri average 13.0:1, 1.2 fewer students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 57% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The figure for public schools in Newton County is close, at 57%.
Among Missouri public middle schools, SOUTH MIDDLE outscored 73%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.
In Missouri, SOUTH MIDDLE is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 44.6% actual against a predicted 38.5%.
Looking at the county, Newton County, the median household earns about $66,301 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Newton County has 25 public schools with about 9,567 students, including SOUTH MIDDLE.
Among nearby public schools, STAPLETON ELEM. is closest at about 1.0 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Nearby schools with test data average 52.5% proficiency; SOUTH MIDDLE posts 44.6%.
In the federal locale system, SOUTH MIDDLE is coded Rural: Fringe, for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Federal data show 600 students in 2020-21 and 596 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%.
The allk12 page for SOUTH MIDDLE lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Newton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
60,118
Census ACS
Median income
$66,301
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
9,567 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in JOPLIN SCHOOLS
- JOPLIN HIGHHigh · 2,288 students
- EAST MIDDLEMiddle · 592 students
- NORTH MIDDLEMiddle · 549 students
- CECIL FLOYD ELEM.Elementary · 532 students
- IRVING ELEMENTARYElementary · 434 students
- Dover Hill ElementaryElementary · 412 students
Other schools in JOPLIN
- JOPLIN HIGHHigh · 2,288 students
- EAST MIDDLEMiddle · 592 students
- NORTH MIDDLEMiddle · 549 students
- CECIL FLOYD ELEM.Elementary · 532 students
- IRVING ELEMENTARYElementary · 434 students
- Dover Hill ElementaryElementary · 412 students
Other South Middle schools
17 other US public schools in 14 states are named South Middle. SOUTH MIDDLE is the 12th largest of the 18.
- SOUTH MIDDLEMANCHESTER, MO · 542 students
- SOUTH MIDDLERAYTOWN, MO · 510 students
- South Middle SchoolEDINBURG, TX · 1,246 students
- South Middle SchoolWaukee, IA · 1,092 students
- SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOLBRENTWOOD, NY · 975 students
Nearby schools
- STAPLETON ELEM.1.0 mi · 400
- KELSEY NORMAN ELEM.1.9 mi · 300
- IRVING ELEMENTARY2.3 mi · 434
- JOPLIN EARLY CHILDHOOD CTR.2.4 mi · 311
- JOPLIN HIGH2.5 mi · 2,288
- CECIL FLOYD ELEM.3.1 mi · 532
Frequently asked questions
About SOUTH MIDDLEHow large is SOUTH MIDDLE?
SOUTH MIDDLE enrolls approximately 596 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does SOUTH MIDDLE serve?
SOUTH MIDDLE serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does SOUTH MIDDLE have?
SOUTH MIDDLE employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at SOUTH MIDDLE?
At SOUTH MIDDLE, the student body is approximately 67% White, 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 2% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees SOUTH MIDDLE?
SOUTH MIDDLE is overseen by JOPLIN SCHOOLS in Newton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.