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How has Oyster River Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
585
Middle
DISTRICT 419 · STATE 379
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OYSTER RIVER COOP SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 330552000355
Oyster River Middle School
1 Coe Dr., Durham, NH 03824 · (603) 868-2155 · Strafford County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL585 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% of New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire public middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 11.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
10%
61 students
DISTRICT 8% · 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 5 | 131 | 22% |
| Grade 6 | 136 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 155 | 26% |
| Grade 8 | 163 | 28% |
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 27% · 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
Oyster River Middle School→Oyster River High School
Based on grade levels within Oyster River Coop School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NHSAS 2024-25 . % Above ProficientEnglish Language Arts
73.0%
NH avg 55.2%
Math
65.0%
NH avg 43.0%
What this means: On the NHSAS, New Hampshire's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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
67.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.8%
based on NH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Oyster River Middle School
Oyster River Middle School's state test result (67.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oyster River Middle School this school | 585 | 10.4% | 67.4% |
| Ross A. Lurgio Middle School Bedford | 646 | 6.0% | 69.3% |
| McKelvie Intermediate School Bedford | 619 | 6.9% | 71.1% |
| Windham Center School Windham | 426 | 3.5% | 70.4% |
| Cooperative Middle School Stratham | 945 | 9.2% | 55.8% |
| Merrimack Middle School Merrimack | 480 | 10.6% | 44.3% |
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 Oyster River Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Hampshire | In Strafford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #10 of 85 | #1 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #12 of 85 | #1 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.0% | #11 of 85 | #1 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 585 | #24 of 101 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.9:1 | #17 of 74 | #3 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.2% | #28 of 74 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 10.4% | #74 of 90 | #7 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.2% | #37 of 57 | #5 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
585
-73 (-11%) vs 2020
+54% since 1990-91, when it was 381
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
was 10.8:1
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 | 585 | 59 | 9.9:1 | 10% (61) |
| 2023-24 | 618 | 57 | 10.8:1 | 11% (65) |
| 2022-23 | 643 | 60.8 | 10.6:1 | 7% (46) |
| 2020-21 | 658 | 61 | 10.8:1 | 9% (58) |
| 2017-18 | 659 | 59.6 | 11.1:1 | 8% (53) |
| 2015-16 | 673 | 60 | 11.2:1 | 8% (52) |
| 2010-11 | 628 | 58 | 10.8:1 | 5% (30) |
| 2000-01 | 802 | 59 | 13.6:1 | 6% (46) |
| 1990-91 | 381 | 25 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Oyster River Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (659 to 585); teachers down 1% (59.6 to 59).
About Oyster River Middle School
Oyster River Middle School is a public middle-grades school in Durham, New Hampshire. There are 585 students enrolled, covering grades 5 through 8. Across middle schools in New Hampshire, the average enrollment is about 379.
Oyster River Coop School District has 5 schools and 2,097 students, and Oyster River Middle School is one of those schools.
White students account for 84% of the school's enrollment. Other reported shares: 7% Asian, 4% multiracial, and 3% Hispanic. Among Strafford County residents, the White share is about 88%. A diversity index of 28% means there is a 28% chance two randomly chosen students at Oyster River Middle School are from different groups.
There are 59 full-time-equivalent teachers at Oyster River Middle School, giving a ratio of 9.9:1. Middle schools in New Hampshire have an average ratio of 11.1:1. By family income, 10% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is below the 26% average among public schools in Strafford County.
Among New Hampshire public middle schools, Oyster River Middle School outscored 94%, which works out to an A on the allk12 Grade.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Oyster River Middle School is 10.6 points above the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 67.4% actual, 56.8% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in New Hampshire.
For Strafford County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $88,570 a year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Counting Oyster River Middle School, Strafford County has 39 public schools.
Oyster River Preschool Education Program is about 0.4 miles from Oyster River Middle School, the shortest distance to any other public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Oyster River Middle School is 3rd among 8 schools close by.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Town: Fringe, meaning it is in a town close to an urbanized area.
The school shrank from 658 students in 2020-21 to 585 in 2024-25.
Oyster River Middle School has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Strafford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
132,575
Census ACS
Median income
$88,570
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
39
13,978 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Oyster River Coop School District
- Oyster River High SchoolHigh · 825 students
- Mast Way SchoolElementary · 348 students
- Moharimet SchoolElementary · 309 students
- Oyster River Preschool Education ProgramElementary · 30 students
Other schools in Durham
- Oyster River High SchoolHigh · 825 students
- Oyster River Preschool Education ProgramElementary · 30 students
Nearby schools
- Oyster River Preschool Education Program0.4 mi · 30
- Oyster River High School0.4 mi · 825
- Moharimet School2.1 mi · 309
- Dover Senior High School3.3 mi · 1,371
- Garrison School3.3 mi · 353
- Dover Middle School3.4 mi · 941
Frequently asked questions
About Oyster River Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Oyster River Middle School?
Oyster River Middle School enrolls approximately 585 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does Oyster River Middle School serve?
Oyster River Middle School serves grades 05-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Oyster River Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Oyster River Middle School is approximately 9.9:1 (59 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Oyster River Middle School?
Student demographics at Oyster River Middle School are roughly 84% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 7% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Oyster River Middle School in?
Oyster River Middle School is part of Oyster River Coop School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.