Is South Middle School a good school?

South Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.8% of New York middle schools.

How many students attend South Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,033 students attended South Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of South Middle School?

Students at South Middle School are 90% Hispanic, 7% African American, 2% Asian, 1% White.

South Middle School

Summary:

South Middle School is a public middle school located in Brentwood, New York, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 1,033 students. The school is part of the Brentwood Union Free School District, which is ranked 800 out of 866 school districts in New York and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite having a relatively high spending per student of around $19,000, South Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of New York middle schools based on the SchoolDigger statewide ranking. Its performance on state assessments is also significantly lower than the state and district averages, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math often below 30%. The school's student population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, and this subgroup consistently underperforms compared to their peers in other nearby schools, such as North Middle School, West Middle School, and East Middle School, which are also part of the Brentwood Union Free School District.

The consistent low performance and the disparity between South Middle School's high spending and low outcomes suggest the need for a comprehensive review of its educational practices, resource allocation, and targeted interventions to address the root causes of its underperformance, particularly for its large Hispanic student population and other underserved subgroups. The nearby schools, while also part of the same district, generally perform better than South Middle School on academic measures, indicating that there may be opportunities to learn from their practices and strategies.

Detail:

Public 6-8

785 Candlewood Rd
Brentwood, NY 11717-6600

(631) 434-2341

District: Brentwood Union Free School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1368^th of 1,500 New York Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $19,301

Student/teacher ratio: 13.1

Number of students: 1,033

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

89.8%

African American:

6.7%

Asian:

1.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 86.3%

See top rated New York middle schools

Compare South Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details South Middle School ranks worse than 91.2% of middle schools in New York. It also ranks last among 4 ranked middle schools in the Brentwood Union Free School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 15.38. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (89.8%), African American (6.7%), Asian (1.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 86.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at South Middle School is 13.1. 2 middle schools in the Brentwood Union Free School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare South Middle School employs 78.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at South Middle School is $19,301, which is the 2^nd highest among 4 middle schools in the Brentwood Union Free School District.

Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

South Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks South Middle School 1368^th of 1500 New York public middle schools. (See South Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

Brentwood Union Free School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Brentwood Union Free School District 800^th of 866 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for South Middle School

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Rank History for all students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2006	38.55	762^nd	1095	30.4%
2007	45.58	721^st	1123	35.8%
2008	46.54	778^th	1185	34.3%
2009	49.22	795^th	1224	35.0%
2010	45.43	781^st	1243	37.2%
2011	46.51	780^th	1295	39.8%
2012	52.53	708^th	1337	47.0%
2013	36.44	871^st	1373	36.6%
2014	29.60	1007^th	1401	28.1%
2015	38.70	861^st	1407	38.8%
2016	22.43	1154^th	1429	19.2%
2017	20.98	1220^th	1455	16.2%
2018	13.24	1333^rd	1438	7.3%
2019	9.07	1381^st	1439	4.0%
2021	12.33	1166^th	1242	6.1%
2022	13.23	1378^th	1479	6.8%
2023	15.38	1368^th	1500	8.8%

See the entire list of New York Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	34.44	352^nd	503	30.0%
2019	28.90	400^th	473	15.4%
2022	26.71	509^th	581	12.4%
2023	31.49	446^th	591	24.5%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	21.08	1134^th	1170	3.1%
2019	21.45	1088^th	1139	4.5%
2021	35.16	338^th	522	35.2%
2022	27.78	1055^th	1283	17.8%
2023	23.22	1155^th	1307	11.6%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	13.31	1202^nd	1245	3.5%
2019	12.86	1203^rd	1241	3.1%
2021	17.43	868^th	935	7.2%
2022	17.63	1195^th	1306	8.5%
2023	18.94	1162^nd	1288	9.8%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	11.25	1293^rd	1353	4.4%
2019	8.65	1326^th	1370	3.2%
2021	10.10	1032^nd	1066	3.2%
2022	10.89	1384^th	1454	4.8%
2023	15.93	1331^st	1463	9.0%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	16.83	1226^th	1352	9.3%
2019	11.49	1320^th	1366	3.4%
2021	14.44	997^th	1071	6.9%
2022	16.83	1320^th	1455	9.3%
2023	16.76	1328^th	1464	9.3%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	30.41	466^th	653	28.6%
2023	55.35	281^st	696	59.6%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at South Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	21.12	711^th	810	12.2%
2019	13.03	785^th	826	5.0%
2021	17.84	412^th	449	8.2%
2022	18.41	825^th	914	9.7%
2023	20.13	834^th	943	11.6%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, 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.

Data source: NY State Education Department

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Enrollment information for South Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1989	252	101	17	254	1	n/a	n/a	625
1990	259	108	6	273	4	n/a	n/a	650
1991	231	114	5	312	5	n/a	n/a	667
1992	217	105	12	309	10	n/a	n/a	653
1993	213	123	11	295	3	n/a	n/a	645
1994	203	130	4	350	2	n/a	n/a	689
1995	189	143	9	320	7	n/a	n/a	668
1996	189	143	9	320	7	n/a	n/a	668
1997	165	158	13	316	4	n/a	n/a	656
1998	183	156	10	343	0	n/a	n/a	692
1999	172	206	7	364	0	n/a	n/a	749
2000	165	193	7	411	1	n/a	n/a	777
2001	134	248	8	477	1	n/a	n/a	868
2002	126	215	13	564	2	n/a	n/a	920
2003	126	215	13	564	2	n/a	n/a	920
2004	120	198	17	629	1	n/a	n/a	965
2005	115	204	18	651	0	n/a	n/a	988
2006	104	206	18	678	0	n/a	n/a	1006
2007	88	180	12	638	0	n/a	n/a	918
2008	73	162	15	607	0	n/a	n/a	857
2009	79	176	15	623	0	n/a	n/a	893
2010	74	169	13	623	0	n/a	n/a	879
2011	52	157	12	633	0	0	0	854
2012	40	148	22	684	0	0	2	896
2013	41	140	29	712	0	0	2	924
2014	39	135	25	713	3	0	1	916
2015	40	117	30	701	4	0	0	892
2016	45	109	28	737	5	0	0	924
2017	42	103	22	782	2	2	3	956
2018	38	104	26	878	1	2	2	1051
2019	26	108	25	885	1	1	3	1049
2020	23	95	25	958	2	0	4	1107
2021	14	80	17	932	3	0	4	1050
2022	9	69	19	959	2	0	0	1058
2023	13	69	18	928	3	0	2	1033

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 South Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	625	48.4	12.9	n/a
1990	650	47.9	13.5	n/a
1991	667	47.9	13.9	n/a
1992	653	47.1	13.8	n/a
1993	645	40.5	15.9	n/a
1994	689	42.2	16.3	46.9
1995	668	40.5	16.5	59.3
1996	668	40.5	16.5	59.3
1997	656	41.6	15.8	55.5
1998	692	42.6	16.2	49
1999	749	45.6	16.4	52.7
2000	777	46.6	16.7	66
2001	868	51.1	17.0	58.3
2002	920	57.7	15.9	76.4
2003	920	57.7	15.9	76.4
2004	965	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	988	60.0	16.5	77.4
2006	1006	60.0	16.8	79.1
2007	918	61.0	15.0	71.4
2008	857	67.6	12.7	69.5
2009	893	66.0	13.5	68.4
2010	879	62.2	14.1	65.8
2011	854	57.6	14.8	67.7
2012	896	60.5	14.8	63.3
2013	924	52.5	17.5	74.8
2014	916	50.0	18.3	55.6
2015	892	51.0	17.4	85.2
2016	924	57.0	16.2	83.4
2017	956	57.0	16.7	85.6
2018	1051	63.0	16.6	87.7
2019	1049	68.6	15.2	85.7
2020	1107	83.5	13.2	89.8
2021	1050	77.4	13.5	87.6
2022	1058	79.9	13.2	n/a
2023	1033	78.7	13.1	86.3

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 South Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	625	48.4	12.9	n/a
1990	650	47.9	13.5	n/a
1991	667	47.9	13.9	n/a
1992	653	47.1	13.8	n/a
1993	645	40.5	15.9	n/a
1994	689	42.2	16.3	46.9
1995	668	40.5	16.5	59.3
1996	668	40.5	16.5	59.3
1997	656	41.6	15.8	55.5
1998	692	42.6	16.2	49
1999	749	45.6	16.4	52.7
2000	777	46.6	16.7	66
2001	868	51.1	17.0	58.3
2002	920	57.7	15.9	76.4
2003	920	57.7	15.9	76.4
2004	965	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	988	60.0	16.5	77.4
2006	1006	60.0	16.8	79.1
2007	918	61.0	15.0	71.4
2008	857	67.6	12.7	69.5
2009	893	66.0	13.5	68.4
2010	879	62.2	14.1	65.8
2011	854	57.6	14.8	67.7
2012	896	60.5	14.8	63.3
2013	924	52.5	17.5	74.8
2014	916	50.0	18.3	55.6
2015	892	51.0	17.4	85.2
2016	924	57.0	16.2	83.4
2017	956	57.0	16.7	85.6
2018	1051	63.0	16.6	87.7
2019	1049	68.6	15.2	85.7
2020	1107	83.5	13.2	89.8
2021	1050	77.4	13.5	87.6
2022	1058	79.9	13.2	n/a
2023	1033	78.7	13.1	86.3

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.

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