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Which teacher or staff member at SWANSON MIDDLE deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
993
Middle
DISTRICT 1,014 · STATE 750
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ARLINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510027000107
Swanson Middle
5800 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22205 · (703) 228-5500 · Arlington County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL993 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
70 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
198 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 | 334 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 346 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 313 | 32% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
85.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +3.0pp since 2022
Math
82.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +4.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 85 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 82 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 3 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 4 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 85.0% | 82.0% |
| 2023-24 | 81.0% | 81.0% |
| 2022-23 | 82.0% | 78.0% |
% 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
82.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
82.7%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 83% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 83% 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 Swanson Middle
Swanson Middle's state test result (82.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swanson Middle this school | 993 | 19.9% | 82.6% |
| J. Lupton Simpson Middle Leesburg | 874 | 30.1% | 75.4% |
| E.H. Marsteller Middle Bristow | 1,153 | 23.9% | 85.5% |
| Tabb Middle Yorktown | 968 | 27.8% | 90.6% |
| Dorothy Hamm Middle Arlington | 989 | 18.9% | 86.1% |
| Louise A. Benton Middle Manassas | 1,339 | 25.0% | 83.4% |
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 Swanson Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Arlington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 82.6% | #58 of 337 | #3 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 82.0% | #59 of 342 ▲ 9 | #3 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 85.0% | #47 of 342 ▲ 23 | #3 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 993 | #81 of 343 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.2:1 | #223 of 327 | #3 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.2% | #135 of 333 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 19.9% | #312 of 340 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.9% | #20 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
993
-25 (-2%) vs 2020
+57% since 1990-91, when it was 634
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 993 | 70.2 | 14.2:1 | 20% (198) |
| 2023-24 | 964 | 68.4 | 14.1:1 | 20% (192) |
| 2022-23 | 936 | 68.5 | 13.7:1 | 19% (181) |
| 2020-21 | 1,018 | 75 | 13.6:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,305 | 95.9 | 13.6:1 | 13% (167) |
| 2015-16 | 1,123 | 80 | 14.0:1 | 13% (148) |
| 2010-11 | 954 | 41 | 23.3:1 | 14% (137) |
| 2000-01 | 817 | 60 | 13.6:1 | 22% (181) |
| 1990-91 | 634 | 39 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Swanson Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (1,305 to 993); teachers down 27% (95.9 to 70.2).
About Swanson Middle
Federal records list Swanson Middle as a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. The grade span is 6 through 8, and enrollment is 993 students. Average enrollment for middle schools in Virginia is about 750, so this school runs 32% larger than that.
Arlington County Public Schools is responsible for 36 schools, Swanson Middle included, with 27,950 students in all.
White students are the majority at Swanson Middle, with 53% of enrollment. It is also 23% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, 8% Asian, and 6% Black. Swanson Middle's diversity index is 64%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teachers at Swanson Middle total 70.2 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 14.2:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 13.1:1 average for middle schools in Virginia. The school counts 198 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 20%. Compared with the 31% average for public schools in Arlington County, the school's rate is lower.
Swanson Middle's average proficiency rate on state tests of 82.6% is within a point of the 82.7% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
According to the American Community Survey, in Arlington County, the median household income is $142,114, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 77% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 4%. There are 42 public schools in Arlington County, enrolling about 27,950 students in all.
Nearby, Cardinal Elementary is about 0.3 miles away. Within five miles of Swanson Middle, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Swanson Middle places 6th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
The federal government classifies Swanson Middle's location as City: Mid-size.
Enrollment at Swanson Middle was 1,018 in 2020-21 and 993 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Arlington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
236,254
Census ACS
Median income
$142,114
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
77%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
27,950 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Arlington County Public Schools
- Washington-Liberty HighHigh · 3,044 students
- Wakefield HighHigh · 2,646 students
- Yorktown HighHigh · 2,593 students
- Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 1,120 students
- Gunston MiddleMiddle · 1,072 students
- Kenmore MiddleMiddle · 1,053 students
Other schools in Arlington
- Washington-Liberty HighHigh · 3,044 students
- Wakefield HighHigh · 2,646 students
- Yorktown HighHigh · 2,593 students
- Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 1,120 students
- Gunston MiddleMiddle · 1,072 students
- Kenmore MiddleMiddle · 1,053 students
Nearby schools
- Cardinal Elementary0.3 mi · 682
- Arlington Traditional0.5 mi · 624
- Ashlawn Elementary0.7 mi · 553
- Escuela Key Elementary0.9 mi · 572
- Glebe Elementary1.2 mi · 574
- Integration Station1.2 mi · 34
Frequently asked questions
About Swanson MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Swanson Middle?
Swanson Middle enrolls approximately 993 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Swanson Middle serve?
Swanson Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Swanson Middle?
Approximately 14.2:1 students per teacher at Swanson Middle.
How diverse is Swanson Middle?
Swanson Middle reports a student body of 53% White, 23% Hispanic, 6% Black, 8% Asian, 9% Two or more.
What district is Swanson Middle in?
Swanson Middle is part of Arlington County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.