1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Van Buren Middle School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
598
Middle
DISTRICT 527 · STATE 482
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·KETTERING CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 390441801114
Van Buren Middle School
3775 Shroyer Rd, Kettering, OH 45429 · (937) 499-1800 · Montgomery County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL598 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
244 students
DISTRICT 49% · STATE 43%
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 | 188 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 231 | 39% |
| Grade 8 | 179 | 30% |
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 54% · 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
Van Buren Middle School→Kettering Fairmont High School
Based on grade levels within Kettering City School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Ohio's State Tests 2024-25 . % Proficient or AboveEnglish Language Arts
73.5%
OH avg 59.8% . +4.0pp since 2021
Math
74.3%
OH avg 56.1% . +14.5pp since 2021
What this means: On the Ohio's State Tests, Ohio's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 74 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Ohio schools, those numbers are about 60 and 56. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2021, while math scores are up about 14 points.
Ohio's State Tests results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 73.5% | 74.3% |
| 2023-24 | 70.6% | 72.5% |
| 2022-23 | 73.2% | 69.6% |
| 2021-22 | 69.5% | 59.9% |
% Proficient or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Ohio's State Tests. 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
71.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
73.4%
based on OH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 73% typical for Ohio 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 Ohio'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 Van Buren Middle School
Van Buren Middle School's state test result (71.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Middle School this school | 598 | 40.8% | 71.8% |
| Batavia Middle School Batavia | 584 | 43.5% | 63.6% |
| Sylvania Arbor Hills Junior High School Sylvania | 573 | 43.8% | 66.5% |
| Shawnee Middle School Lima | 712 | 40.2% | 76.2% |
| Troy Junior High School Troy | 633 | 45.0% | 69.1% |
| Howland Middle School Warren | 699 | 45.6% | 73.0% |
Matched among Ohio 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 Van Buren Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Ohio | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.8% | #164 of 316 | #4 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.3% | #217 of 637 ▲ 20 | #6 of 22 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.5% | #185 of 637 ▲ 4 | #6 of 22 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.2pp | #71 of 629 | #4 of 21 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 598 | #193 of 654 | #7 of 22 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #157 of 577 | #6 of 22 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 37.4% | #226 of 579 | #14 of 22 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.8% | #158 of 319 | #5 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.3% | #191 of 410 | #4 of 13 |
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
598
-64 (-10%) vs 2020
+5% since 1990-91, when it was 572
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 17.9:1
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 | 598 | 40.5 | 14.8:1 | 41% (244) |
| 2023-24 | 607 | 41.9 | 14.5:1 | 41% (249) |
| 2022-23 | 585 | 38.3 | 15.3:1 | 37% (214) |
| 2020-21 | 662 | 37 | 17.9:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 682 | 48.7 | 14.0:1 | 33% (227) |
| 2015-16 | 643 | 43 | 14.9:1 | 37% (239) |
| 2010-11 | 716 | 42 | 17.1:1 | 31% (225) |
| 2000-01 | 740 | 45 | 16.4:1 | 13% (94) |
| 1990-91 | 572 | 36 | 15.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Van Buren Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (682 to 598); teachers down 17% (48.7 to 40.5).
About Van Buren Middle School
Van Buren Middle School is a public medium-sized middle-grades school in Kettering, Ohio. The school enrolls 598 students, from grades 6 through 8. Average enrollment for middle schools in Ohio is about 482, so this school runs 24% bigger than that.
Van Buren Middle School reports to Kettering City School District, which has 13 schools and 7,635 students.
By race and ethnicity, Van Buren Middle School is 78% White. It is also 8% multiracial, 7% Hispanic, and 5% Black. For comparison, the population of Montgomery County is roughly 68% White. By the diversity index, Van Buren Middle School comes in at 37%.
Van Buren Middle School operates with 40.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 14.8:1. That ratio is under the 17.0:1 average for middle schools in Ohio. Van Buren Middle School reports 41% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in Montgomery County, the average is about the same, 42%.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Van Buren Middle School is 73.4%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 71.8%.
Across Montgomery County, median household income is about $66,139, roughly 31% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. The public schools of Montgomery County number 160 and enroll about 74,487.
The closest other public school is Kettering Fairmont High School, about 0.4 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Van Buren Middle School ranks 6th of 7 nearby schools, at 71.8% versus a 79.1% average.
Its NCES locale code is City: Small: the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Van Buren Middle School saw enrollment fall 10% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. The number of students per teacher fell from 17.9 to 14.8 over 4 years.
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Van Buren Middle School. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
536,096
Census ACS
Median income
$66,139
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
160
74,487 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Kettering City School District
- Kettering Fairmont High SchoolHigh · 2,445 students
- Kettering Middle SchoolMiddle · 982 students
- J F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 602 students
- Southdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 530 students
- Indian Riffle Elementary SchoolElementary · 521 students
- Oakview Elementary SchoolElementary · 477 students
Other schools in Kettering
- Kettering Fairmont High SchoolHigh · 2,445 students
- Kettering Middle SchoolMiddle · 982 students
- Dayton Regional STEM SchoolHigh · 801 students
- J F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 602 students
- Southdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 530 students
- Indian Riffle Elementary SchoolElementary · 521 students
Other Van Buren Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Van Buren Middle. Van Buren Middle School is the largest of the 3.
- Van Buren Middle SchoolVan Buren, OH · 237 students
- VAN BUREN MIDDLEALBUQUERQUE, NM · 344 students
Nearby schools
- Kettering Fairmont High School0.4 mi · 2,445
- Oakview Elementary School0.6 mi · 477
- Orchard Park Elementary School0.7 mi · 294
- Julian & Marjorie Lange School Elementary School1.0 mi · 130
- Beavertown Elementary School1.5 mi · 380
- Smith Elementary School1.5 mi · 494
Frequently asked questions
About Van Buren Middle SchoolHow many students attend Van Buren Middle School?
Van Buren Middle School enrolls approximately 598 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Van Buren Middle School serve?
Van Buren Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Van Buren Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Van Buren Middle School is approximately 14.8:1 (40 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Van Buren Middle School?
At Van Buren Middle School, the student body is approximately 78% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Van Buren Middle School public or private?
Van Buren Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Kettering City School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.