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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Southwest Middle administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
832
Middle
DISTRICT 639 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370162000712
Southwest Middle
1 Roadrunner Drive, Gastonia, NC 28052 · (704) 866-6290 · Gaston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL832 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 8% of North Carolina public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
15.4:1
54 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
829 students
DISTRICT 88% · 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 | 261 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 268 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 303 | 36% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
30.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
31.3%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 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
31.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Southwest Middle
Southwest Middle's state test result (31.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Middle this school | 832 | 99.6% | 31.7% |
| East Forsyth Middle School Kernersville | 772 | 99.6% | 28.8% |
| Wendell Middle Wendell | 762 | 99.6% | 40.6% |
| North Garner Middle Garner | 831 | 99.6% | 42.5% |
| Southeast Middle Kernersville | 733 | 99.6% | 34.7% |
| Turrentine Middle Burlington | 739 | 99.6% | 33.8% |
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 Southwest Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Gaston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.7% | #423 of 463 | #10 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.3% | #399 of 461 | #10 of 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.9% | #422 of 463 | #10 of 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 832 | #88 of 478 | #2 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #157 of 456 | #4 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.0% | #64 of 456 | #2 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #24 of 472 | #1 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.8% | #131 of 143 | #6 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
832
-2 (0%) vs 2020
+9% since 1990-91, when it was 763
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 832 | 54.1 | 15.4:1 | 100% (829) |
| 2023-24 | 809 | 53.3 | 15.2:1 | 100% (806) |
| 2022-23 | 804 | 51.1 | 15.7:1 | 100% (801) |
| 2020-21 | 834 | 53 | 15.7:1 | 100% (831) |
| 2017-18 | 825 | 47.4 | 17.4:1 | 98% (812) |
| 2015-16 | 799 | 49 | 16.3:1 | 97% (777) |
| 2010-11 | 850 | 54 | 15.7:1 | 75% (638) |
| 2000-01 | 827 | 57 | 14.5:1 | 47% (385) |
| 1990-91 | 763 | 54 | 14.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (825 to 832); teachers up 14% (47.4 to 54.1).
About Southwest Middle
As a medium-sized middle school, Southwest Middle serves students in Gastonia, North Carolina. Its 832 students are spread across grades 6 through 8. The school's enrollment is 38% larger than the 605 average for middle schools in North Carolina.
Southwest Middle is one of the 56 schools that make up Gaston County Schools (30,995 students in total).
Hispanic students form the largest group at Southwest Middle, 36% of enrollment. Other groups make up 34% Black, 22% White, and 7% multiracial. County-wide, 10% of Gaston County residents are Hispanic. Southwest Middle has a diversity index of 70%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The ratio of students to teachers is 15.4:1, with 54.1 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. Middle schools in North Carolina have a similar average ratio of 15.9:1. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Southwest Middle is 100%. The 85% average for public schools in Gaston County is 15 points lower.
Southwest Middle is graded D by allk12, scoring above 8% of North Carolina public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 48.4% for a school in North Carolina with Southwest Middle's free or reduced-price lunch share. Southwest Middle posts 31.7%.
Among Gaston County residents, median household income is about $67,478, roughly 27% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 61 public schools in Gaston County, with a combined enrollment of about 35,898.
The school nearest to Southwest Middle is H H Beam Elementary, at a distance of about 0.6 miles. Within five miles of Southwest Middle, there are at least 8 other public schools. Southwest Middle is 4th of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Southwest Middle is coded as City: Small in federal locale data.
Enrollment at Southwest Middle was 834 in 2020-21 and 832 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Gaston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,881
Census ACS
Median income
$67,478
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
35,898 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Gaston County Schools
- Ashbrook HighHigh · 1,386 students
- Hunter Huss HighHigh · 1,165 students
- Forestview HighHigh · 1,133 students
- North Gaston HighHigh · 1,061 students
- South Point HighHigh · 989 students
- Cramerton MiddleMiddle · 959 students
Other schools in Gastonia
- Piedmont Community Charter SchoolCombined · 1,963 students
- Ashbrook HighHigh · 1,386 students
- Hunter Huss HighHigh · 1,165 students
- Forestview HighHigh · 1,133 students
- Pleasant Ridge ElementaryElementary · 887 students
- W A Bess Elementary SchoolElementary · 674 students
Other Southwest Middle schools
14 other US public schools in 10 states are named Southwest Middle. Southwest Middle is the 5th largest of the 15.
- Southwest Middle SchoolCharlotte, NC · 1,205 students
- Southwest MiddleJacksonville, NC · 510 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLEORLANDO, FL · 1,290 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLPALM BAY, FL · 997 students
- SOUTHWEST MIDDLE SCHOOLSEARCY, AR · 913 students
Nearby schools
- H H Beam Elementary0.6 mi · 591
- Hunter Huss High0.7 mi · 1,165
- Lingerfeldt Elementary1.1 mi · 450
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary1.3 mi · 887
- Gaston Virtual Academy1.5 mi · 283
- York Chester Middle1.9 mi · 398
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Southwest Middle?
Southwest Middle enrolls approximately 832 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Southwest Middle serve?
Southwest Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Southwest Middle?
Approximately 15.4:1 students per teacher at Southwest Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southwest Middle?
At Southwest Middle, the student body is approximately 22% White, 36% Hispanic, 34% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Southwest Middle in?
Southwest Middle is part of Gaston County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.