West Side Middle School

Summary:

West Side Middle School is a public middle school in Waterbury, Connecticut, serving 817 students in grades 6-8. The school faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and a student population that is predominantly Hispanic and African American.

West Side Middle School's academic performance is well below state and district averages. In 2023-2024, only 23.2% of 6th-grade students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 48.1% statewide, and just 4.6% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in math, compared to 38.2% statewide. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Connecticut middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Its performance is particularly low for African American and Hispanic student subgroups, ranking 31 out of 33 Connecticut middle schools for African American students and 79 out of 104 for Hispanic students in ELA.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Michael F. Wallace Middle School and North End Middle School in Waterbury, as well as Tyrrell Middle School in Wolcott and Memorial Middle School in Middlebury, West Side Middle School's performance is significantly lower. This persistent underperformance, coupled with the high percentage of economically disadvantaged students (80-83% receive free or reduced-price lunch), suggests that the school faces significant challenges in addressing the unique needs of its student population and ensuring equitable access to high-quality education.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 483 Chase Parkway
       Waterbury, CT  06708


(203) 574-8120

District: Waterbury School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
219th of 250 Connecticut Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $22,504 Help


Students who attend West Side Middle School usually attend:

High:    John F. Kennedy High School

Feeder schools for West Side Middle School:

Elementary:    B. W. Tinker School
    Bunker Hill School
    Driggs School
    Hopeville School
    More...

Student/teacher ratio:  9.7 Help
Number of students:  817

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
62.8%
African American:
21.8%
White:
10.0%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  81.4% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details West Side Middle School ranks worse than 87.6% of middle schools in Connecticut. It also ranks 2nd among 3 ranked middle schools in the Waterbury School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.35. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (62.8%), African American (21.8%), White (10%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 81.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Waterbury School District. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at West Side Middle School is 9.7. 1 middle schools in the Waterbury School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare West Side Middle School employs 83.7 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at West Side Middle School is $22,504. 1 middle schools in the Waterbury School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

West Side Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks West Side Middle School 219th of 250 Connecticut public middle schools. (See West Side Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:


Waterbury School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Waterbury School District 151st of 158 Connecticut school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for West Side Middle School

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Rank History for all students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 10.56 212th 248 14.5%
2007 12.74 203rd 250 18.8%
2008 8.41 221st 252 12.3%
2009 11.95 214th 255 16.1%
2010 10.72 233rd 268 13.1%
2011 12.32 231st 269 14.1%
2012 11.73 240th 272 11.8%
2013 9.78 243rd 278 12.6%
2015 8.82 253rd 280 9.6%
2016 6.19 228th 246 7.3%
2017 7.45 225th 250 10.0%
2018 7.29 230th 249 7.6%
2019 7.38 236th 259 8.9%
2021 13.53 230th 275 16.4%
2022 7.39 233rd 250 6.8%
2023 9.33 222nd 249 10.8%
2024 10.35 219th 250 12.4%
See the entire list of Connecticut Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.93 4th 16 75.0%
2019 22.20 8th 15 46.7%
2021 33.17 23rd 34 32.4%
2022 18.99 18th 26 30.8%
2023 37.41 2nd 3 33.3%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 21.19 20th 23 13.0%
2021 21.58 194th 244 20.5%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 21.14 175th 218 19.7%
2022 10.57 104th 106 1.9%
2023 17.00 96th 109 11.9%
2024 15.56 103rd 114 9.6%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 11.12 204th 235 13.2%
2022 5.76 160th 166 3.6%
2023 5.59 155th 160 3.1%
2024 7.25 152nd 161 5.6%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 19.45 92nd 104 11.5%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 4.29 165th 167 1.2%
2021 10.95 196th 224 12.5%
2022 5.11 165th 169 2.4%
2023 4.89 155th 158 1.9%
2024 5.35 151st 157 3.8%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 28.03 63rd 80 21.3%
2022 16.39 38th 40 5.0%
2023 25.49 26th 32 18.8%
2024 25.19 31st 33 6.1%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 23.12 115th 146 21.2%
2022 18.09 87th 97 10.3%
2023 21.67 82nd 99 17.2%
2024 24.82 79th 104 24.0%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at West Side Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CT State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 0.76 164th 166 1.2%
2021 1.72 173rd 175 1.1%
See the entire list of Best Connecticut Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Connecticut Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

West Side Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Connecticut State Department of Education

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Enrollment information for West Side Middle School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 493 177 7 266 6 n/a n/a 0 949
1989 482 176 7 267 5 n/a n/a 0 937
1990 506 204 9 282 4 n/a n/a 0 1005
1991 471 208 11 313 3 n/a n/a 0 1006
1992 465 232 14 358 1 n/a n/a 0 1070
1993 415 228 13 416 2 n/a n/a 0 1074
1994 401 204 8 411 1 n/a n/a 0 1025
1995 392 183 11 460 4 n/a n/a 0 1050
1996 392 183 11 460 4 n/a n/a 0 1050
1997 404 205 13 432 5 n/a n/a 0 1059
1998 420 246 14 468 3 n/a n/a 0 1151
1999 437 259 14 508 4 n/a n/a 0 1222
2000 421 257 11 530 0 n/a n/a 0 1219
2001 436 250 13 551 5 n/a n/a 0 1255
2002 467 286 30 594 8 n/a n/a 0 1385
2003 467 286 30 594 8 n/a n/a 0 1385
2004 461 320 35 658 6 n/a n/a 0 1480
2005 390 256 28 557 5 n/a n/a 0 1236
2006 353 265 25 536 2 n/a n/a 0 1181
2007 332 261 22 533 1 n/a n/a 0 1149
2008 328 276 20 572 1 n/a n/a 0 1197
2009 343 324 19 589 1 n/a n/a 0 1276
2010 312 314 14 551 2 n/a n/a 0 1193
2011 277 314 0 536 1 0 20 0 1148
2012 234 277 27 520 2 1 15 0 1076
2013 216 235 15 548 4 1 38 0 1057
2014 191 214 22 523 6 1 31 0 988
2015 207 203 17 572 6 0 16 0 1021
2016 191 206 16 577 4 0 26 0 1020
2017 192 198 21 578 7 0 21 0 1017
2018 180 223 16 514 14 0 25 0 972
2019 165 220 17 535 10 0 31 0 978
2020 151 217 19 497 12 0 43 0 939
2021 152 206 16 510 8 0 43 0 935
2022 101 188 12 511 9 0 34 0 855
2023 82 178 8 513 2 0 34 0 817

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at West Side Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 949 71.0 13.3 n/a
1989 937 71.0 13.1 n/a
1990 1005 73.0 13.7 n/a
1991 1006 75.0 13.4 n/a
1992 1070 79.7 13.4 50
1993 1074 74.3 14.5 4.6
1994 1025 74.2 13.8 64
1995 1050 75.6 13.9 61.6
1996 1050 75.6 13.9 61.6
1997 1059 77.3 13.7 57.2
1998 1151 77.3 14.9 58
1999 1222 82.6 14.8 63.5
2000 1219 81.4 15.0 66.4
2001 1255 82.8 15.2 n/a
2002 1385 79.8 17.4 70.2
2003 1385 79.8 17.4 70.2
2004 1480 91.0 16.3 70.4
2005 1236 82.5 15.0 n/a
2006 1181 85.5 13.8 71.5
2007 1149 82.0 14.0 80.1
2008 1197 89.0 13.4 79.1
2009 1276 94.7 14.8 77.8
2010 1193 93.0 12.8 84.1
2011 1148 92.0 12.4 84.5
2012 1076 92.8 11.5 83.4
2013 1057 89.8 11.7 84.7
2014 988 89.8 11.0 86.1
2015 1021 87.0 11.7 81.1
2016 1020 87.0 11.7 81.2
2017 1017 85.6 11.8 79.9
2018 972 88.6 10.9 78.4
2019 978 103.6 9.4 80.5
2020 939 89.4 10.5 85.8
2021 935 80.8 11.5 83.4
2022 855 88.1 9.7 80.1
2023 817 83.7 9.7 81.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio West Side Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 949 71.0 13.3 n/a
1989 937 71.0 13.1 n/a
1990 1005 73.0 13.7 n/a
1991 1006 75.0 13.4 n/a
1992 1070 79.7 13.4 50
1993 1074 74.3 14.5 4.6
1994 1025 74.2 13.8 64
1995 1050 75.6 13.9 61.6
1996 1050 75.6 13.9 61.6
1997 1059 77.3 13.7 57.2
1998 1151 77.3 14.9 58
1999 1222 82.6 14.8 63.5
2000 1219 81.4 15.0 66.4
2001 1255 82.8 15.2 n/a
2002 1385 79.8 17.4 70.2
2003 1385 79.8 17.4 70.2
2004 1480 91.0 16.3 70.4
2005 1236 82.5 15.0 n/a
2006 1181 85.5 13.8 71.5
2007 1149 82.0 14.0 80.1
2008 1197 89.0 13.4 79.1
2009 1276 94.7 14.8 77.8
2010 1193 93.0 12.8 84.1
2011 1148 92.0 12.4 84.5
2012 1076 92.8 11.5 83.4
2013 1057 89.8 11.7 84.7
2014 988 89.8 11.0 86.1
2015 1021 87.0 11.7 81.1
2016 1020 87.0 11.7 81.2
2017 1017 85.6 11.8 79.9
2018 972 88.6 10.9 78.4
2019 978 103.6 9.4 80.5
2020 939 89.4 10.5 85.8
2021 935 80.8 11.5 83.4
2022 855 88.1 9.7 80.1
2023 817 83.7 9.7 81.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for West Side Middle School

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2018 $16,347
2019 $17,195
2020 $16,333
2021 $19,014
2022 $19,488
2023 $22,504

Data source: Connecticut Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on West Side Middle School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 236th of 259 Middle schoolsRanks 222nd of 249 Middle schools
 2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (West Side Middle School)24.828.5
 3.7%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Waterbury School District)27.622
 5.6%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Connecticut)55.348
 7.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (West Side Middle School)10.19.9
 0.2%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Waterbury School District)15.210.5
 4.7%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Connecticut)45.439.6
 5.8%
7th Grade English Language Arts (West Side Middle School)27.119.6
 7.5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Waterbury School District)29.122.6
 6.5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Connecticut)56.148.8
 7.3%
7th Grade Mathematics (West Side Middle School)10.34.7
 5.6%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Waterbury School District)15.110.1
 5%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Connecticut)46.139.9
 6.2%
8th Grade English Language Arts (West Side Middle School)24.224.6
 0.4%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Waterbury School District)27.625.1
 2.5%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Connecticut)55.848.5
 7.3%
8th Grade Mathematics (West Side Middle School)84.5
 3.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Waterbury School District)11.88.8
 3%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Connecticut)43.536.2
 7.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students978817
 16.5%
African American220178
 19.1%
American Indian102
 80%
Asian178
 52.9%
Hispanic535513
 4.1%
Pacific Islander00
White16582
 50.3%
Two or More Races3134
 9.7%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients80.5%81.4%
 0.9%


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Frequently Asked Questions about West Side Middle School

Students at West Side Middle School are 63% Hispanic, 22% African American, 10% White, 4% Two or more races.

West Side Middle School ranks in the bottom 12.4% of Connecticut middle schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 817 students attended West Side Middle School.

Students who attend West Side Middle School usually go on to attend John F. Kennedy High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Connecticut Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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