1
What tradition at Alston Middle should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
732
Middle
DISTRICT 844 · STATE 622
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DORCHESTER 02·NCES 450201000403
Alston Middle
500 Bryan Street, Summerville, SC 29483 · (843) 873-3890 · Dorchester County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL732 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 40% of South Carolina public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·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 South Carolina public middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 77%
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 | 246 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 245 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 241 | 33% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 67% · 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
SC READY 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
51.1%
SC avg 59.7% . +7.1pp since 2023
Math
27.8%
SC avg 44.2% . +3.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Carolina schools, those numbers are about 60 and 44. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.1% | 27.8% |
| 2023-24 | 44.0% | 24.4% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Alston Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Dorchester County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.8% | #145 of 249 ▲ 9 | #6 of 9 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.1% | #141 of 249 ▲ 6 | #6 of 9 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 732 | #97 of 256 | #6 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.1:1 | #88 of 241 | #4 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.7% | #8 of 241 | #1 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #88 of 137 | 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
732
-219 (-23%) vs 2020
-27% since 1990-91, when it was 1,000
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 732 | 55.7 | 13.1:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 804 | 51.8 | 15.5:1 | 79% (639) |
| 2022-23 | 822 | 55 | 14.9:1 | 81% (666) |
| 2020-21 | 951 | 59 | 16.1:1 | 57% (542) |
| 2017-18 | 806 | 53 | 15.2:1 | 56% (454) |
| 2015-16 | 826 | 51 | 16.2:1 | 44% (360) |
| 2010-11 | 866 | 52 | 16.6:1 | 50% (437) |
| 2000-01 | 712 | 56 | 12.7:1 | 37% (262) |
| 1990-91 | 1,000 | 55 | 18.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Alston Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (806 to 732); teachers up 5% (53 to 55.7).
About Alston Middle
Alston Middle is a medium-sized middle school for students in Summerville, South Carolina. It enrolled 732 students in grades 6 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year.
Dorchester 02 has 25 schools; together they serve 25,928 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Alston Middle is White (36%). Other groups make up 36% Black, 17% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. Dorchester County as a whole is about 62% White, so the school's share is lower. Alston Middle has a diversity index of 71%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Federal staffing data show 55.7 full-time-equivalent teachers at Alston Middle and a ratio of 13.1:1. Across middle schools in South Carolina, the average ratio is about 13.8:1.
Alston Middle is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 40% of South Carolina public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Dorchester County has about 167,201 residents, and median household income is about $78,198, 30% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Dorchester County number 35 and enroll about 29,832.
Nearest public school: Alston-Bailey Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Large).
Enrollment was 951 in 2020-21 and 732 in 2024-25, a decrease of 219 students. Federal data show the ratio falling from 16.1:1 to 13.1:1.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Dorchester County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
167,201
Census ACS
Median income
$78,198
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
35
29,832 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Dorchester 02
- Summerville HighHigh · 3,361 students
- Ashley Ridge HighHigh · 2,599 students
- Fort Dorchester HighHigh · 2,344 students
- Sand Hill ElementaryElementary · 1,169 students
- Beech Hill ElementaryElementary · 1,079 students
- East Edisto MiddleMiddle · 1,031 students
Other schools in Summerville
- Summerville HighHigh · 3,361 students
- Ashley Ridge HighHigh · 2,599 students
- Cane Bay HighHigh · 2,412 students
- Cane Bay MiddleMiddle · 1,464 students
- Sand Hill ElementaryElementary · 1,169 students
- Cane Bay ElementaryElementary · 1,161 students
Nearby schools
- Alston-Bailey Elementary0.2 mi · 646
- Summerville Elementary1.5 mi · 548
- James H. Spann Elementary1.5 mi · 577
- Nexton Elementary3.0 mi · 944
- Charles B. DuBose Middle3.2 mi · 947
- Flowertown Elementary3.2 mi · 783
Frequently asked questions
About Alston MiddleHow large is Alston Middle?
Alston Middle enrolls approximately 732 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Alston Middle serve?
Alston Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Alston Middle?
Approximately 13.1:1 students per teacher at Alston Middle.
How diverse is Alston Middle?
Alston Middle reports a student body of 36% White, 17% Hispanic, 36% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Alston Middle?
Alston Middle is overseen by Dorchester 02 in Dorchester County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.