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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AUGUSTA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510030001830

S. Gordon Stewart Middle

118 Fort Defiance Rd, Fort Defiance, VA 24437 · (540) 245-5046 · Augusta County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL516 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of Virginia 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 Virginia public middle schools

Enrollment
516
Middle
DISTRICT 489 · STATE 750
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.5:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
354 students
DISTRICT 68% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 616532%
Grade 718736%
Grade 816432%
Student demographics
33%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
41681%
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 43% · US 43%
Hispanic
6913%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 20% · US 30%
Black
92%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 21% · US 15%
Asian
31%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 8% · US 6%
Two+
194%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 7% · US 5%
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
Male
26050%
Female
25650%

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Test scores

SOL 2024-25 . % Passing
English Language Arts
66.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -1.0pp since 2022
Math
60.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -4.0pp since 2022

What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 4 points.

SOL results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2566.0%60.0%
2023-2467.0%62.0%
2022-2367.0%64.0%
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
63.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.4%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.4pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% 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 S. Gordon Stewart Middle

S. Gordon Stewart Middle's state test result (63.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
S. Gordon Stewart Middle this school51668.6%63.0%
Elkton Middle
Elkton
56166.3%60.3%
Warren County Middle
Front Royal
56973.6%65.6%
Stuarts Draft Middle
Stuarts Draft
51364.7%66.6%
Page Middle
Gloucester
57365.1%75.8%
Peasley Middle
Gloucester
56565.3%76.5%
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 S. Gordon Stewart Middle ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn VirginiaIn Augusta County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
63.0%#223 of 337#5 of 6
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
60.0%#239 of 342
▼ 33
#5 of 6
no change
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
66.0%#226 of 342
▼ 24
#6 of 6
▼ 1
Enrollment
ranked largest first
516#251 of 343#3 of 6
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
13.2:1#165 of 327#5 of 6
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
33.0%#293 of 333#3 of 6
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
68.6%#196 of 340#1 of 6
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-2.8%#205 of 224N/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 2024-25
Enrollment
516
-6 (-1%) vs 2020
-29% since 1990-91, when it was 724
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 11.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2551639.113.2:169% (354)
2023-2451638.613.4:166% (342)
2022-2350236.513.8:147% (238)
2020-215224411.9:1N/A
2017-1853144.112.0:138% (204)
2015-165744014.3:132% (185)
2010-116044114.7:137% (222)
2000-017874916.1:120% (159)
1990-917244018.1:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for S. Gordon Stewart Middle.

Since 2017-18: students down 3% (531 to 516); teachers down 11% (44.1 to 39.1).

About S. Gordon Stewart Middle

Families in Fort Defiance, Virginia, are served by S. Gordon Stewart Middle, a small middle school. The school serves 516 students in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. The average among middle schools in Virginia is roughly 750 students; this school is 31% smaller than that.

Augusta County Public Schools serves 10,742 students across 20 schools.

At S. Gordon Stewart Middle, White students make up 81% of the student body. The school is also 13% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 89%. The chance that two students picked at random at S. Gordon Stewart Middle belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 33%.

Teachers at the school number 39.1 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.2:1. Across middle schools in Virginia, the average ratio is about 13.1:1. Roughly 69% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Augusta County, the average is about the same, 67%.

Measured against Virginia public middle schools, S. Gordon Stewart Middle receives a C. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

S. Gordon Stewart Middle sits between the top and bottom 10% of Virginia schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 63.0% and a predicted 69.4%.

Within Augusta County, median household income is about $82,049, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 25% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Federal data list 25 public schools in Augusta County, with a combined enrollment of about 10,742.

Nearest public school: Edward G. Clymore Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: 2. S. Gordon Stewart Middle is 4th of 6 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.

Federal data place S. Gordon Stewart Middle in the Rural: Fringe locale, which means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.

Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 522 in 2020-21, 516 in 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio rising from 11.9:1 to 13.2:1.

Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.

Augusta County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
78,033
Census ACS
Median income
$82,049
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
10,742 students

Quick facts

School name
S. Gordon Stewart Middle
District
Augusta County Public Schools
Address
118 Fort Defiance Rd, Fort Defiance, VA 24437
Phone
(540) 245-5046
County
Augusta County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
516
Teachers (FTE)
39
Student–teacher ratio
13.2:1
Free and reduced lunch
354 (69%)
Locale
41-Rural: Fringe
NCES ID
510030001830
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Augusta County Public Schools
Other schools in Fort Defiance
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About S. Gordon Stewart Middle
How many students attend S. Gordon Stewart Middle?
S. Gordon Stewart Middle enrolls approximately 516 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does S. Gordon Stewart Middle serve?
S. Gordon Stewart Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at S. Gordon Stewart Middle?
Approximately 13.2:1 students per teacher at S. Gordon Stewart Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at S. Gordon Stewart Middle?
At S. Gordon Stewart Middle, the student body is approximately 81% White, 13% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is S. Gordon Stewart Middle in?
S. Gordon Stewart Middle is part of Augusta County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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