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What tradition at William H. Ruffner Middle should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
576
Middle
DISTRICT 863 · STATE 750
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORFOLK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510267001134
Ruffner School
610 May Ave., Norfolk, VA 23504 · (757) 628-2466 · Norfolk city
GRADES 03–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL576 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
93%
538 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 3 | 46 | 8% |
| Grade 4 | 44 | 8% |
| Grade 5 | 36 | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 151 | 26% |
| Grade 7 | 167 | 29% |
| Grade 8 | 132 | 23% |
Student demographics
15%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
38.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +7.0pp since 2022
Math
25.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +6.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 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 7 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 6 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 38.0% | 25.0% |
| 2023-24 | 29.0% | 22.0% |
| 2022-23 | 31.0% | 19.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of VA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
27.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.7%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-35.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 63% typical for Virginia 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 Ruffner School
Ruffner School's state test result (27.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffner School this school | 576 | 93.4% | 27.3% |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Middle Richmond | 500 | 98.2% | 35.9% |
| Thomas H. Henderson Middle Richmond | 430 | 98.6% | 44.1% |
| Fairfield Middle Richmond | 936 | 91.0% | 44.0% |
| John Rolfe Middle Richmond | 874 | 89.1% | 33.8% |
| Westwood Middle Danville | 642 | 92.2% | 55.0% |
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 Ruffner School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Norfolk city |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.3% | #337 of 337 | #6 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 25.0% | #341 of 342 no change | #6 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.0% | #340 of 342 ▲ 2 | #6 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 576 | #226 of 343 | #6 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.3:1 | #107 of 327 | #1 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 14.8% | #321 of 333 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 93.4% | #70 of 340 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.7% | #223 of 224 | 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
576
+12 (+2%) vs 2020
-25% since 1990-91, when it was 770
Student : Teacher
12.3:1
was 12.5:1
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 | 576 | 47 | 12.3:1 | 93% (538) |
| 2023-24 | 540 | 52 | 10.4:1 | 93% (500) |
| 2022-23 | 436 | 42 | 10.4:1 | 87% (380) |
| 2020-21 | 564 | 45 | 12.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 580 | 52.4 | 11.1:1 | 91% (529) |
| 2015-16 | 680 | 78 | 8.7:1 | 92% (625) |
| 2010-11 | 853 | 58 | 14.7:1 | 81% (689) |
| 2000-01 | 1,033 | 76 | 13.6:1 | 71% (729) |
| 1990-91 | 770 | 59 | 13.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ruffner School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (580 to 576); teachers down 10% (52.4 to 47).
About Ruffner School
Ruffner School is a middle school in Norfolk, Virginia, reachable at (757) 628-2466. It had 576 students in 2024-25, spanning grades 3 through 8. Middle schools in Virginia have about 750 students on average; enrollment here is 23% lower.
Ruffner School is one of 44 schools in Norfolk City Public Schools, which enrolls 26,807 students in total.
Roughly 92% of students at Ruffner School are Black. Other groups include 3% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. By comparison, Norfolk city residents are about 40% Black. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 15%.
A staff of 47 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 12.3:1. Compared with the 13.1:1 average for middle schools in Virginia, this school's ratio is lower. By family income, 93% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Test results at Ruffner School are 35.4 points below what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate across its state test results is 27.3%, compared with a predicted 62.7%, which ranks in the bottom 10% in Virginia.
In Norfolk city, median household income comes to about $66,109, roughly 34% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. The county's public schools total 54, with about 26,807 students.
Ruffner School's closest public school neighbor is Booker T Washington High, about 0.6 miles away. Within five miles of Ruffner School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Of 7 schools in the immediate area with test results, Ruffner School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
NCES assigns Ruffner School the locale City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (564) to 2024-25 (576).
This page is set up for the Ruffner School community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Norfolk city at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
233,596
Census ACS
Median income
$66,109
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
26,807 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Norfolk City Public Schools
- Granby HighHigh · 1,980 students
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighHigh · 1,713 students
- Norview HighHigh · 1,585 students
- Norview MiddleMiddle · 1,196 students
- Blair MiddleMiddle · 1,141 students
- Lake Taylor HighHigh · 1,107 students
Other schools in Norfolk
- Granby HighHigh · 1,980 students
- Matthew Fontaine Maury HighHigh · 1,713 students
- Norview HighHigh · 1,585 students
- Norview MiddleMiddle · 1,196 students
- Blair MiddleMiddle · 1,141 students
- Lake Taylor HighHigh · 1,107 students
Nearby schools
- Booker T Washington High0.6 mi · 904
- P.B. Young Sr. Elementary0.7 mi · 241
- Jacox Elementary0.9 mi · 596
- Richard Bowling Elementary1.2 mi · 492
- St. Helena Elementary1.2 mi · 229
- Ghent K-81.3 mi · 501
Frequently asked questions
About Ruffner SchoolHow large is Ruffner School?
Ruffner School enrolls approximately 576 students in grades 03-08.
What grades does Ruffner School serve?
Ruffner School serves grades 03-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ruffner School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ruffner School is approximately 12.3:1 (47 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Ruffner School?
Ruffner School reports a student body of 2% White, 3% Hispanic, 92% Black, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Ruffner School?
Ruffner School is overseen by Norfolk City Public Schools in Norfolk city.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.