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What's one thing W P Grier Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
659
Middle
DISTRICT 639 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370162000687
W P Grier Middle School
1622 E Garrison Boulevard, Gastonia, NC 28054 · (704) 836-9604 · Gaston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL659 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 5% 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
15.8:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
656 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 | 222 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 226 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 211 | 32% |
Student demographics
62%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
28.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
26.0%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
29.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 W P Grier Middle School
W P Grier Middle School's state test result (29.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| W P Grier Middle School this school | 659 | 99.5% | 29.2% |
| Zebulon Middle Zebulon | 772 | 99.6% | 44.0% |
| Paisley Magnet School Winston Salem | 553 | 99.5% | 36.7% |
| Western Guilford Middle Greensboro | 731 | 99.6% | 43.3% |
| North Rowan Middle Spencer | 649 | 99.5% | 25.9% |
| Lumberton Junior Lumberton | 655 | 99.5% | 31.8% |
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 W P Grier Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Gaston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 29.2% | #437 of 463 | #11 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.0% | #433 of 461 | #11 of 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.5% | #435 of 463 | #11 of 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 659 | #180 of 478 | #5 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #192 of 456 | #6 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.2% | #229 of 456 | #7 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.5% | #64 of 472 | #2 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.5% | #290 of 300 | N/A |
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
659
-60 (-8%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 854
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 17.1:1
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 | 659 | 41.7 | 15.8:1 | 100% (656) |
| 2023-24 | 587 | 30.5 | 19.3:1 | 99% (580) |
| 2022-23 | 610 | 36.2 | 16.9:1 | 100% (607) |
| 2020-21 | 719 | 42 | 17.1:1 | 100% (716) |
| 2017-18 | 669 | 39.5 | 17.0:1 | 100% (666) |
| 2015-16 | 662 | 41 | 16.1:1 | 98% (646) |
| 2010-11 | 654 | 39 | 16.8:1 | 70% (457) |
| 2000-01 | 723 | 69 | 10.5:1 | 33% (240) |
| 1990-91 | 854 | 59 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for W P Grier Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (669 to 659); teachers up 6% (39.5 to 41.7).
About W P Grier Middle School
W P Grier Middle School is a medium-sized middle school found in Gastonia, North Carolina. Classes run from 6 through 8, and the school has 659 students.
W P Grier Middle School is one of 56 schools in Gaston County Schools, which enrolls 30,995 students in total.
W P Grier Middle School is 53% Black by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 29% Hispanic, 10% White, and 7% multiracial. Census estimates put the Black share of Gaston County's population at about 18%. W P Grier Middle School's diversity index is 62%, against a US figure of 70%.
The teaching staff at W P Grier Middle School is 41.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 15.8:1. That is close to the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina. About 100% of students, or 656, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Gaston County report 85%.
The allk12 Grade for W P Grier Middle School is D. Compared with North Carolina public middle schools, the school scored higher than 5% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. W P Grier Middle School posts 29.2% against a 48.4% prediction, a bottom-10% result in North Carolina.
Gaston County has about 234,881 residents, and the median household income is $67,478, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 27%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Besides W P Grier Middle School, Gaston County has 60 other public schools.
Sherwood Elementary is the closest public school, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of W P Grier Middle School. W P Grier Middle School places 5th of 6 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES assigns W P Grier Middle School the locale City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Over 4 years, W P Grier Middle School's enrollment declined 8%, to 659. By 2024-25, the school had 15.8 students per teacher, compared with 17.1 in 2020-21.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for W P Grier Middle School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. 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
- Southwest MiddleMiddle · 832 students
Nearby schools
- Sherwood Elementary0.3 mi · 553
- Gardner Park Elementary1.3 mi · 560
- Ashbrook High1.7 mi · 1,386
- Piedmont Community Charter School1.7 mi · 1,963
- Ridgeview Charter School2.1 mi · 300
- York Chester Middle2.1 mi · 398
Frequently asked questions
About W P Grier Middle SchoolHow many students attend W P Grier Middle School?
W P Grier Middle School enrolls approximately 659 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does W P Grier Middle School serve?
W P Grier Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at W P Grier Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at W P Grier Middle School is approximately 15.8:1 (42 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at W P Grier Middle School?
Student demographics at W P Grier Middle School are roughly 10% White, 29% Hispanic, 53% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is W P Grier Middle School in?
W P Grier Middle School is part of Gaston County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.