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What's the biggest difference between York Chester Middle and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
398
Middle
DISTRICT 639 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370162002195
York Chester Middle
601 S Clay Street, Gastonia, NC 28052 · (704) 836-9609 · Gaston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL398 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% 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.
- CBeats 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
16.0:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
395 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 | 139 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 120 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 139 | 35% |
Student demographics
65%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
35.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
42.7%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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
40.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% 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 York Chester Middle
York Chester Middle's state test result (40.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| York Chester Middle this school | 398 | 99.2% | 40.3% |
| Dunn Middle Dunn | 388 | 99.0% | 43.0% |
| Third Creek Middle Statesville | 402 | 99.3% | 21.7% |
| Centennial Campus Middle Raleigh | 477 | 99.4% | 35.5% |
| Mount Olive Middle Mount Olive | 329 | 99.1% | 41.1% |
| Lucas Middle Durham | 400 | 99.3% | 41.4% |
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 York Chester Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Gaston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.3% | #345 of 463 | #6 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.7% | #300 of 461 | #6 of 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.9% | #380 of 463 | #9 of 11 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 398 | #382 of 478 | #11 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #204 of 456 | #7 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.0% | #178 of 456 | #6 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.2% | #190 of 472 | #8 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.6% | #111 of 143 | #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
398
-6 (-1%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 520
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 13.5:1
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 | 398 | 24.9 | 16.0:1 | 99% (395) |
| 2023-24 | 381 | 24.8 | 15.4:1 | 98% (375) |
| 2022-23 | 431 | 22.4 | 19.3:1 | 98% (424) |
| 2020-21 | 404 | 30 | 13.5:1 | 99% (401) |
| 2017-18 | 388 | 29.5 | 13.2:1 | 99% (385) |
| 2015-16 | 359 | 28 | 12.8:1 | 99% (356) |
| 2010-11 | 381 | 29 | 13.1:1 | 90% (342) |
| 2000-01 | 443 | 38 | 11.7:1 | 56% (249) |
| 1990-91 | 520 | 44 | 11.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for York Chester Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (388 to 398); teachers down 15% (29.5 to 24.9).
About York Chester Middle
York Chester Middle is a small middle school with an address in Gastonia, North Carolina. It enrolled 398 students in grades 6 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, middle schools in North Carolina average about 605 students each.
Gaston County Schools runs York Chester Middle along with 55 other schools, enrolling 30,995 students in total.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at York Chester Middle. The largest is Black students, at 47%. The next largest groups are 30% Hispanic, 18% White, and 4% multiracial. In Gaston County overall, about 18% of residents are Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 65% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at the school number 24.9 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.0:1. That is close to the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina. The school's lunch program data list 99% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. On average, public schools in Gaston County report 85%.
allk12 grades York Chester Middle a C. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
York Chester Middle is 8.3 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (40.3% versus 48.5%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in North Carolina.
York Chester Middle is located in Gaston County, where the median household income is $67,478, 27% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. York Chester Middle is one of 61 public schools in the county.
The closest other public school is Pleasant Ridge Elementary, about 0.8 miles away. York Chester Middle has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts York Chester Middle at 2nd of 6.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment held near 398, starting from 404. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 13.5:1 in 2020-21 to 16.0:1 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary0.8 mi · 887
- Lingerfeldt Elementary1.0 mi · 450
- Ridgeview Charter School1.1 mi · 300
- Webb Street School1.2 mi · 163
- Hunter Huss High1.3 mi · 1,165
- Highland Sch of Technology1.7 mi · 538
Frequently asked questions
About York Chester MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at York Chester Middle?
York Chester Middle enrolls approximately 398 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does York Chester Middle serve?
York Chester Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at York Chester Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at York Chester Middle is approximately 16.0:1 (25 FTE teachers).
How diverse is York Chester Middle?
York Chester Middle reports a student body of 18% White, 30% Hispanic, 47% Black, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees York Chester Middle?
York Chester Middle is overseen by Gaston County Schools in Gaston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.