Central Middle School

Central Middle School is a public middle school located in Dover, Delaware, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 860 students. The school is part of the Capital School District, which is ranked 21 out of 31 districts in Delaware and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Central Middle School has a diverse student population, with 57.21% African American, 22.09% White, 12.79% Hispanic, and smaller percentages of Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, and multi-racial students.

Central Middle School consistently underperforms compared to the state and district averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics. In 2022-2023, only 33.96% of 7th-grade students and 31.08% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state averages of 42.59% and 41.29%, respectively. In Mathematics, the proficiency rates were even lower, with only 17.43% of 7th-graders and 11.26% of 8th-graders meeting or exceeding the standards, compared to the state averages of 28.93% and 24.33%. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Delaware middle schools, with a ranking of 46 out of 53 schools in the 2022-2023 school year, and a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Central Middle School's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as African American, Hispanic, English Language Learners, and Special Education students, who are performing significantly worse than their peers at nearby schools like Chipman (W.T.) Middle School and Milford Central Academy.

The racial composition of Central Middle School's student population is significantly different from the nearby schools, with a much higher percentage of African American students. This racial imbalance is reflected in the subgroup performance, where African American and Hispanic students at Central Middle School are performing significantly worse than their peers at the other schools. Socioeconomic factors may also be contributing to the school's challenges, as it ranked 36 out of 40 Delaware middle schools for students of low socioeconomic status in 2022-2023. While the school's spending per student is comparable to the nearby schools, the student-teacher ratio of 14.8 in 2022-2023 is lower than some of the nearby schools, which may indicate a need for more targeted support and interventions for students.