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What clubs or activities at BENJAMIN SYMS MIDDLE are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
850
Middle
DISTRICT 679 · STATE 750
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HAMPTON CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510180000730
Benjamin Syms Middle
170 Fox Hill Rd, Hampton, VA 23669 · (757) 850-5050 · Hampton city
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL850 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 49% of Virginia public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats 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 Virginia public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.3:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
615 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 66%
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 | 292 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 268 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 290 | 34% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · 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
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
68.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +2.0pp since 2022
Math
71.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +1.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 1 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 68.0% | 71.0% |
| 2023-24 | 66.0% | 66.0% |
| 2022-23 | 66.0% | 70.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. 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
68.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
68.4%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 68% typical for Virginia 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 Virginia'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 Benjamin Syms Middle
Benjamin Syms Middle's state test result (68.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Syms Middle this school | 850 | 72.4% | 68.8% |
| Indian River Middle Chesapeake | 743 | 72.1% | 58.3% |
| Colonel Fred Cherry Middle SUFFOLK | 736 | 68.8% | 74.3% |
| Carver Middle Chester | 970 | 74.9% | 50.1% |
| Matoaca Middle Matoaca | 775 | 76.3% | 59.8% |
| Western Branch Middle Chesapeake | 855 | 73.3% | 74.5% |
Matched among Virginia 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 Benjamin Syms Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.8% | #180 of 337 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #153 of 342 ▲ 26 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #217 of 342 ▼ 5 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 850 | #132 of 343 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #269 of 327 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.8% | #128 of 333 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.4% | #167 of 340 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.1% | #129 of 224 |
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
850
-128 (-13%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 1,119
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 15.8:1
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 | 850 | 56.5 | 15.0:1 | 72% (615) |
| 2023-24 | 865 | 59 | 14.7:1 | 69% (600) |
| 2022-23 | 897 | 64.5 | 13.9:1 | 69% (616) |
| 2020-21 | 978 | 62 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 935 | 65.5 | 14.3:1 | 70% (651) |
| 2015-16 | 967 | 73 | 13.3:1 | 73% (703) |
| 2010-11 | 1,155 | 49 | 23.6:1 | 48% (553) |
| 2000-01 | 1,088 | 79 | 13.8:1 | 38% (411) |
| 1990-91 | 1,119 | 61 | 18.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benjamin Syms Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (935 to 850); teachers down 14% (65.5 to 56.5).
About Benjamin Syms Middle
Benjamin Syms Middle is a medium-sized middle school located in Hampton, Virginia. The school's 850 students are in grades 6 through 8.
Hampton City Public Schools has 30 schools; together they serve 19,472 students.
Black students form the largest group at Benjamin Syms Middle, 50% of enrollment. Other groups include 29% White, 11% multiracial, and 9% Hispanic. The county population is about 49% Black, within a few points of the school. By the diversity index, Benjamin Syms Middle comes in at 65%.
The school has about 15.0 students per teacher and 56.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among middle schools in Virginia is 13.1:1, lower than at this school. About 72% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is below the 90% average among public schools in Hampton city.
allk12 grades Benjamin Syms Middle a B-. The grade compares the school only with Virginia public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
A school with Benjamin Syms Middle's lunch-eligibility share in Virginia is predicted to score 68.4%. Benjamin Syms Middle scores 68.8%, within a point of that line.
Hampton city has about 137,557 residents, and median household income is about $69,621, about 29% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 36 public schools in Hampton city, with a combined enrollment of about 19,472.
Nearby, Albert W. Patrick III Elementary is about 0.5 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. On average proficiency, Benjamin Syms Middle is 5th of 9 nearby schools with test data.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Federal counts put enrollment at 978 in 2020-21 and 850 in 2024-25, a 13% decrease.
Community posts for Benjamin Syms Middle can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Hampton city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
137,557
Census ACS
Median income
$69,621
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
36
19,472 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hampton City Public Schools
- Bethel HighHigh · 1,769 students
- Kecoughtan HighHigh · 1,553 students
- George P. Phenix ElementaryElementary · 1,438 students
- Phoebus HighHigh · 1,391 students
- Hampton HighHigh · 1,301 students
- Hunter B. AndrewsElementary · 1,081 students
Other schools in Hampton
- Bethel HighHigh · 1,769 students
- Kecoughtan HighHigh · 1,553 students
- George P. Phenix ElementaryElementary · 1,438 students
- Phoebus HighHigh · 1,391 students
- Hampton HighHigh · 1,301 students
- Hunter B. AndrewsElementary · 1,081 students
Nearby schools
- Albert W. Patrick III Elementary0.5 mi · 394
- Kecoughtan High0.6 mi · 1,553
- Captain John Smith Elementary0.7 mi · 374
- Barron Elementary0.7 mi · 397
- Phillips Elementary0.9 mi · 435
- Samuel P. Langley Elementary1.0 mi · 429
Frequently asked questions
About Benjamin Syms MiddleHow large is Benjamin Syms Middle?
Benjamin Syms Middle enrolls approximately 850 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Benjamin Syms Middle serve?
Benjamin Syms Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Benjamin Syms Middle?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at Benjamin Syms Middle.
How diverse is Benjamin Syms Middle?
Benjamin Syms Middle reports a student body of 29% White, 9% Hispanic, 50% Black, 1% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Benjamin Syms Middle in?
Benjamin Syms Middle is part of Hampton City Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.