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Ernest Ward Middle School

Public Grades 6-8
639th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,205 Florida Middle Schools
Better than 47% of Florida middle schools
Summary

Ernest Ward Middle School is a public middle school located in Walnut Hill, Florida, serving 490 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Escambia District, which is ranked 52 out of 67 districts in the state.

Despite the district's lower ranking, Ernest Ward Middle School consistently outperforms both the Escambia District and the state of Florida in various standardized test scores, including EOC/Algebra 1, EOC/Biology 1, EOC/Civics, and Statewide Science/Science for 8th grade. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 91% of Ernest Ward Middle School students were proficient or better in EOC/Algebra 1, compared to 50% in the Escambia District and 60% in Florida. The school also performs better than the district and state in FAST/English Language Arts and FAST/Math for grades 6-8.

However, Ernest Ward Middle School faces some challenges, including relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 30.9% to 42.5% in recent years, which are significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 46.03% to 49.8% in recent years. The school's spending per student has increased over the years, from $8,126 in 2021-2022 to $10,206 in 2023-2024, and the student-teacher ratio has increased from 20.4 in 2021-2022 to 27.2 in 2023-2024, which is higher than the state average.

434
Students ?
18.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$11,069
Per pupil spending ?
43.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 7650 Highway 97
       Walnut Hill, FL  32568

(850) 761-6301

District: Escambia


Students who attend Ernest Ward Middle School usually attend:

High:    Northview High School

Feeder schools for Ernest Ward Middle School:

Elementary:    Bratt Elementary School
    Molino Park Elementary
Racial breakdown:

White:
70.7%
African American:
13.8%
Two or more races:
6.0%
more
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At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 61st percentile in 2014 → 47th in 2025
Worth a look
!High chronic absenteeism (42% vs 31% Florida)
!Ranking has slipped — down 14 percentile points since 2014
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school57%
District avg52%
Florida avg59%
639th of 1,205
Florida public middle schools ?
Bottom 47%▲ up 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Florida Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 10Middle Schools in the Escambia
52nd of 67Escambia among Florida districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankFlorida percentileRating
202547.1639 of 120547.0%★★☆☆☆
202439.3729 of 119639.0%★★☆☆☆
202351.1550 of 117753.3%★★★☆☆
202247.0590 of 114848.6%★★☆☆☆
202151.9525 of 113653.8%★★★☆☆
201949.8549 of 109950.0%★★★☆☆
201853.8465 of 103555.1%★★★☆☆
201751.2498 of 103151.7%★★★☆☆
201644.8551 of 99744.7%★★☆☆☆
201459.7388 of 99961.2%★★★☆☆
201348.0516 of 95646.0%★★☆☆☆
201263.5322 of 89764.1%★★★☆☆
201163.6338 of 89162.1%★★★☆☆
201069.9252 of 83970.0%★★★★☆
200975.3183 of 78076.5%★★★★☆
200867.3248 of 74066.5%★★★☆☆
200761.2293 of 73660.2%★★★☆☆
200653.0333 of 67550.7%★★★☆☆
200558.9260 of 60256.8%★★★☆☆
200445.5342 of 59342.3%★★☆☆☆
By subject vs Florida (2024-2025) ?
Algebra 191%+31 vs state
Biology 176%+5 vs state
Civics67%-4 vs state
Math56%~ state avg
Science54%+5 vs state
English Language Arts51%-6 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Ernest Ward Middle School

Ernest Ward Middle School ranks 639th of 1205 Florida middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Ernest Ward Middle School usually go on to attend Northview High School

Students at Ernest Ward Middle School are 71% White, 14% African American, 6% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic, 3% American Indian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 434 students attended Ernest Ward Middle School.


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Schools in Walnut Hill, FL

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