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How has East McDowell Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
392
Middle
DISTRICT 381 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCDOWELL COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370294001175
East McDowell Middle School
676 State Street, Marion, NC 28752 · (828) 652-7711 · McDowell County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL392 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 32% of North Carolina public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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 North Carolina public middle schools
Student : Teacher
11.3:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.9:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
389 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 82%
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 | 138 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 110 | 28% |
| Grade 8 | 144 | 37% |
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 71% · 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
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
45.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
41.5%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. 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
42.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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 East McDowell Middle School
East McDowell Middle School's state test result (42.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| East McDowell Middle School this school | 392 | 99.2% | 42.8% |
| Owen Middle Swannanoa | 457 | 96.7% | 42.4% |
| Newport Middle Newport | 346 | 98.8% | 52.2% |
| Brevard Middle Brevard | 472 | 99.4% | 54.5% |
| West Wilkes Middle School Wilkesboro | 450 | 99.3% | 51.2% |
| Liberty Middle Morganton | 453 | 99.3% | 60.9% |
Matched among North Carolina 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 East McDowell Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.8% | #322 of 463 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #311 of 461 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.2% | #276 of 463 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 392 | #386 of 478 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.3:1 | #6 of 456 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.2% | #372 of 456 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.2% | #193 of 472 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -32.4% | #17 of 300 |
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
392
-140 (-26%) vs 2020
-37% since 1990-91, when it was 622
Student : Teacher
11.3:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 392 | 34.7 | 11.3:1 | 99% (389) |
| 2023-24 | 411 | 33.3 | 12.4:1 | 99% (408) |
| 2022-23 | 468 | 33.2 | 14.1:1 | 78% (366) |
| 2020-21 | 532 | 40 | 13.3:1 | 58% (308) |
| 2017-18 | 580 | 41.9 | 13.8:1 | 98% (568) |
| 2015-16 | 656 | 44 | 14.9:1 | 100% (653) |
| 2010-11 | 624 | 50 | 12.5:1 | 60% (373) |
| 2000-01 | 681 | 48 | 14.2:1 | 43% (290) |
| 1990-91 | 622 | 48 | 13.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for East McDowell Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (580 to 392); teachers down 17% (41.9 to 34.7).
About East McDowell Middle School
East McDowell Middle School is a small middle school in Marion, North Carolina. It had 392 students in 2024-25, spanning grades 6 through 8. That compares with an average of about 605 students for middle schools in North Carolina.
McDowell County Schools enrolls 5,712 students, and its 16 schools include East McDowell Middle School.
At East McDowell Middle School, 70% of students are White. The remaining students are 20% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 4% Black. Census figures show McDowell County is about 88% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 47%.
The school has 34.7 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 11.3 students per teacher. The average for middle schools in North Carolina is 15.9:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. The school reported 99% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Public schools in McDowell County average a similar 98%.
Among North Carolina public middle schools, East McDowell Middle School outscored 32%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
East McDowell Middle School scores 42.8% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 48.5%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for McDowell County show that the median household earns about $57,168 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 18%, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. Across McDowell County, 16 public schools serve about 5,712 students.
East McDowell Middle School's nearest public school is Eastfield Global Magnet School (about 0.6 miles). There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. On state test proficiency, East McDowell Middle School ranks 6th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Distant: in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 392, down from 532 in 2020-21. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 13.3:1 to 11.3:1.
The East McDowell Middle School discussion page is a place for special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
McDowell County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
44,817
Census ACS
Median income
$57,168
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
16
5,712 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in McDowell County Schools
- McDowell High SchoolHigh · 1,379 students
- West McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 435 students
- West Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 390 students
- Old Fort Elementary SchoolElementary · 360 students
- Nebo Elementary SchoolElementary · 354 students
Other schools in Marion
- McDowell High SchoolHigh · 1,379 students
- West McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 435 students
- West Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 390 students
- Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 333 students
- Pleasant Gardens Elementary SchoolElementary · 289 students
Nearby schools
- Eastfield Global Magnet School0.6 mi · 279
- Marion Elementary School0.7 mi · 333
- The Summit Academy0.8 mi · 23
- McDowell High School2.4 mi · 1,379
- Foothills Community School2.6 mi · 200
- West McDowell Middle School2.6 mi · 550
Frequently asked questions
About East McDowell Middle SchoolHow large is East McDowell Middle School?
East McDowell Middle School enrolls approximately 392 students in grades 06-08.
Is East McDowell Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
East McDowell Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at East McDowell Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at East McDowell Middle School is approximately 11.3:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at East McDowell Middle School?
At East McDowell Middle School, the student body is approximately 70% White, 20% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is East McDowell Middle School public or private?
East McDowell Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by McDowell County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.