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What do students at Merrimack Valley Middle School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
466
Middle
DISTRICT 310 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERRIMACK VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 330476000506
Merrimack Valley Middle School
14 Allen St., Penacook, NH 03303 · (603) 753-6336 · Merrimack County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL466 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 47% of New Hampshire 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.
- BBeats 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 New Hampshire public middle schools
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.6:1 · STATE 11.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
32%
150 students
DISTRICT 28% · STATE 26%
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 | 151 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 165 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 150 | 32% |
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 33% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Merrimack Valley Middle School→Merrimack Valley High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Merrimack Valley School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NHSAS 2024-25 . % Above ProficientEnglish Language Arts
50.0%
NH avg 55.2%
Math
39.0%
NH avg 43.0%
What this means: On the NHSAS, New Hampshire's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Hampshire schools, those numbers are about 55 and 43.
Source: NHSAS. 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
41.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.7%
based on NH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% typical for New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire'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 Merrimack Valley Middle School
Merrimack Valley Middle School's state test result (41.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merrimack Valley Middle School this school | 466 | 32.2% | 41.8% |
| Keene Middle School Keene | 626 | 31.8% | 42.6% |
| Iber Holmes Gove Middle School Raymond | 413 | 28.6% | 46.4% |
| Kingswood Regional Middle School Wolfeboro | 345 | 32.8% | 47.0% |
| Belmont Middle School Belmont | 350 | 29.7% | 48.2% |
| South Meadow School Peterborough | 332 | 26.2% | 46.7% |
Matched among New Hampshire 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 Merrimack Valley Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Hampshire | In Merrimack County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.8% | #51 of 85 | #8 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #48 of 85 | #8 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.0% | #56 of 85 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 466 | #30 of 101 | #3 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.4:1 | #30 of 74 | #3 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 20.4% | #49 of 74 | #6 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 32.2% | #31 of 90 | #5 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.7% | #23 of 57 | #4 of 6 |
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
466
-48 (-9%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 514
Student : Teacher
10.4:1
was 10.9:1
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 | 466 | 45 | 10.4:1 | 32% (150) |
| 2023-24 | 479 | 41 | 11.7:1 | 22% (104) |
| 2022-23 | 472 | 44 | 10.7:1 | 26% (121) |
| 2020-21 | 514 | 47 | 10.9:1 | 17% (86) |
| 2017-18 | 546 | 46 | 11.9:1 | 29% (156) |
| 2015-16 | 598 | 47 | 12.7:1 | 30% (178) |
| 2010-11 | 629 | 48 | 13.1:1 | 30% (191) |
| 2000-01 | 642 | 55 | 11.7:1 | 17% (110) |
| 1990-91 | 514 | 30 | 17.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Merrimack Valley Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (546 to 466); teachers down 2% (46 to 45).
About Merrimack Valley Middle School
Merrimack Valley Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Penacook, New Hampshire. It reports enrollment of 466 students in grades 6 through 8. On average, middle schools in New Hampshire enroll around 379, and this school is 23% larger than that mark.
Merrimack Valley School District enrolls 2,170 students in 7 schools, including Merrimack Valley Middle School.
By race and ethnicity, Merrimack Valley Middle School is 89% White. The next largest groups are 4% Hispanic, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. In Merrimack County overall, the White share is about 91%. A diversity index of 20% means there is a 20% chance two randomly chosen students at Merrimack Valley Middle School are from different groups.
Its staff includes 45 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 10.4 students per teacher. The average for middle schools in New Hampshire, 11.1:1, is higher. Merrimack Valley Middle School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 32%.
On the allk12 Grade, Merrimack Valley Middle School lands at B-, ahead of 47% of New Hampshire public middle schools.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Merrimack Valley Middle School is within a point of its prediction. Actual: 41.8%. Predicted: 42.7%.
American Community Survey estimates for Merrimack County show that the median household earns about $97,004 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 39%, and about 4% of people live in poverty. Merrimack County has 61 public schools with about 17,429 students, including Merrimack Valley Middle School.
Merrimack Valley High School, about 0.1 miles away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Merrimack Valley Middle School places 4th of 6 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES assigns Merrimack Valley Middle School the locale Town: Fringe, meaning in a town close to an urbanized area.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 466, compared with 514 in 2020-21.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Merrimack County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
155,967
Census ACS
Median income
$97,004
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
17,429 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Merrimack Valley School District
- Merrimack Valley High SchoolHigh · 744 students
- Penacook Elementary SchoolElementary · 325 students
- Loudon Elementary SchoolElementary · 243 students
- Boscawen Elementary SchoolElementary · 240 students
- Webster Elementary SchoolElementary · 88 students
- Salisbury Elementary SchoolElementary · 64 students
Other schools in Penacook
- Merrimack Valley High SchoolHigh · 744 students
- Penacook Elementary SchoolElementary · 325 students
- CSI Charter SchoolHigh · 34 students
Nearby schools
- Merrimack Valley High School0.1 mi · 744
- Penacook Elementary School0.3 mi · 325
- CSI Charter School0.6 mi · 34
- Beaver Meadow School2.0 mi · 362
- Boscawen Elementary School2.1 mi · 240
- Synergy Academy Chartered Public School3.8 mi · 21
Frequently asked questions
About Merrimack Valley Middle SchoolHow many students attend Merrimack Valley Middle School?
Merrimack Valley Middle School enrolls approximately 466 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Merrimack Valley Middle School serve?
Merrimack Valley Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Merrimack Valley Middle School?
Approximately 10.4:1 students per teacher at Merrimack Valley Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Merrimack Valley Middle School?
At Merrimack Valley Middle School, the student body is approximately 89% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Merrimack Valley Middle School?
Merrimack Valley Middle School is overseen by Merrimack Valley School District in Merrimack County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.