Summary:
The Lowndes County School District in Mississippi is home to two middle schools: New Hope Middle School and Caledonia Middle School. While both schools serve students in grades 6-8, Caledonia Middle School stands out as the higher-performing institution, consistently outpacing state and district averages on standardized test scores and earning a top-20 ranking among Mississippi middle schools.
Caledonia Middle School boasts impressive academic achievements, with 57.8% to 58.8% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 76.9% to 79% proficient or better in Math across grade levels. In contrast, New Hope Middle School sees proficiency rates ranging from 41.5% to 50% in ELA and 60% to 63.4% in Math. Both schools, however, serve economically disadvantaged student populations, with over 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.
While the two schools have similar student-teacher ratios and per-student spending levels, the racial demographics differ significantly. Caledonia Middle School has a higher percentage of white students (75.5%) compared to New Hope Middle School (54.16%), which has a larger African American student population (43.56%). This disparity may be an area for further investigation to understand any potential factors contributing to the performance gap between the two Lowndes County School District middle schools.
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