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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at SOUTHWEST MIDDLE?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
803
Middle
DISTRICT 770 · STATE 461
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PARKWAY C-2·NCES 292358001540
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE
701 WREN AVE, BALLWIN, MO 63021 · (314) 415-7300 · St. Louis County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL803 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% of Missouri 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.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-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
14.9:1
54 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.6:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
17%
133 students
DISTRICT 17% · 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 | 247 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 270 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 286 | 36% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 62% · 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
47.7%
MO avg 44.9% . -2.5pp since 2021
Math
50.8%
MO avg 43.8% . -0.3pp since 2021
What this means: On the MAP, Missouri's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Missouri schools, those numbers are about 45 and 44. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2021, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Advanced | Proficient | Basic | Below Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 19.8% | 27.9% | 37.0% | 15.1% |
| Math | 28.2% | 22.6% | 29.8% | 19.2% |
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 | 47.7% | 50.8% |
| 2023-24 | 49.7% | 52.5% |
| 2022-23 | 55.6% | 53.6% |
| 2021-22 | 50.2% | 51.1% |
% 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
50.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.7%
based on MO schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 51% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% 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 SOUTHWEST MIDDLE
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE's state test result (50.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHWEST MIDDLE this school | 803 | 16.6% | 50.7% |
| BARNWELL MIDDLE ST CHARLES | 792 | 19.2% | 60.1% |
| WILDWOOD MIDDLE WILDWOOD | 538 | 13.4% | 65.0% |
| JOHN WARNER MIDDLE SCHOOL COLUMBIA | 579 | 11.6% | 70.5% |
| FT. ZUWMALT WEST MIDDLE O'FALLON | 1,114 | 21.4% | 60.6% |
| WYDOWN MIDDLE CLAYTON | 604 | 11.6% | 70.3% |
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 SOUTHWEST MIDDLE ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Missouri | In St. Louis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.7% | #87 of 379 | #23 of 51 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.8% | #129 of 380 ▼ 32 | #25 of 51 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.7% | #113 of 380 ▼ 39 | #27 of 51 ▼ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.4pp | #94 of 364 | #14 of 48 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 803 | #46 of 397 | #11 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.9:1 | #263 of 321 | #34 of 45 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.6% | #107 of 321 | #20 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 16.6% | #355 of 379 | #37 of 51 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.4% | #24 of 91 | #3 of 13 |
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
803
+203 (+34%) vs 2020
-9% since 2000-01, when it was 886
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 803 | 54 | 14.9:1 | 17% (133) |
| 2023-24 | 747 | 50.7 | 14.8:1 | 18% (136) |
| 2022-23 | 688 | 49.6 | 13.9:1 | 17% (115) |
| 2020-21 | 600 | 43 | 13.9:1 | 21% (125) |
| 2017-18 | 702 | 47.1 | 14.9:1 | 14% (98) |
| 2015-16 | 685 | 45 | 15.2:1 | 21% (141) |
| 2010-11 | 650 | 48 | 13.5:1 | 14% (91) |
| 2000-01 | 886 | 53 | 16.7:1 | 13% (116) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for SOUTHWEST MIDDLE.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (702 to 803); teachers up 15% (47.1 to 54).
About SOUTHWEST MIDDLE
At 701 WREN AVE in BALLWIN, Missouri, SOUTHWEST MIDDLE operates as a large middle-grades school. Students in grades 6 through 8 attend, and enrollment is 803 students. The typical figure for middle schools in Missouri is about 461 students.
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is among 29 schools run by PARKWAY C-2, which serves 16,759 students.
White students are the majority at SOUTHWEST MIDDLE, with 70% of enrollment. Other groups include 10% Black, 10% Asian, 6% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. SOUTHWEST MIDDLE's diversity index is 49%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teachers at the school number 54 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 14.9:1. This ratio sits 1.9 above the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Missouri. Roughly 17% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in St. Louis County, the average eligibility rate is 43%.
The allk12 Grade for SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is B-. Compared with Missouri public middle schools, the school scored higher than 54% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, SOUTHWEST MIDDLE would score about 53.7%. It scores 50.7%, 3.0 points below that figure.
Recent Census Bureau figures for St. Louis County show that the median household income is $82,936, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 47%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Besides SOUTHWEST MIDDLE, St. Louis County has 274 other public schools.
Of nearby public schools, WREN HOLLOW ELEM. is the closest, at about 0.2 miles. SOUTHWEST MIDDLE has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. The school's 50.7% average proficiency ranks 3rd among 9 nearby schools.
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 203 more students in 2024-25.
The SOUTHWEST MIDDLE community page is open for posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
St. Louis County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
995,569
Census ACS
Median income
$82,936
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
275
134,601 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in PARKWAY C-2
- SOUTH HIGHHigh · 1,485 students
- WEST HIGHHigh · 1,417 students
- CENTRAL HIGHHigh · 1,281 students
- NORTH HIGHHigh · 990 students
- CENTRAL MIDDLEMiddle · 881 students
- WEST MIDDLEMiddle · 814 students
Other schools in BALLWIN
- WEST HIGHHigh · 1,417 students
- SELVIDGE MIDDLEMiddle · 583 students
- HENRY ELEM.Elementary · 512 students
- CLAYMONT ELEM.Elementary · 460 students
- BALLWIN ELEM.Elementary · 426 students
- WOERTHER ELEM.Elementary · 423 students
Other Southwest Middle schools
14 other US public schools in 10 states are named Southwest Middle. SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is the 6th largest of the 15.
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLEWASHBURN, MO · 186 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLEORLANDO, FL · 1,290 students
- Southwest Middle SchoolCharlotte, NC · 1,205 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLPALM BAY, FL · 997 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLSEARCY, AR · 913 students
Nearby schools
- WREN HOLLOW ELEM.0.2 mi · 409
- SOUTH HIGH0.3 mi · 1,485
- HANNA WOODS ELEM.0.5 mi · 360
- SORRENTO SPRINGS ELEM.0.8 mi · 288
- OAK BROOK ELEM.1.4 mi · 401
- CARMAN TRAILS ELEM.1.4 mi · 355
Frequently asked questions
About SOUTHWEST MIDDLEHow large is SOUTHWEST MIDDLE?
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE enrolls approximately 803 students in grades 06-08.
Is SOUTHWEST MIDDLE an elementary, middle, or high school?
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at SOUTHWEST MIDDLE?
Approximately 14.9:1 students per teacher at SOUTHWEST MIDDLE.
What is the racial breakdown of students at SOUTHWEST MIDDLE?
At SOUTHWEST MIDDLE, the student body is approximately 70% White, 4% Hispanic, 10% Black, 10% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees SOUTHWEST MIDDLE?
SOUTHWEST MIDDLE is overseen by PARKWAY C-2 in St. Louis County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.