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William Obrien Middle School

Public Grades 6-8
134th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 151 Nevada Middle Schools
Better than 11% of Nevada middle schools
Summary

William Obrien Middle School is a public middle school located in Reno, Nevada, serving grades 6-8 with an enrollment of 1,056 students. It is part of the Washoe County School District, which is ranked 4 out of 12 in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being part of a relatively high-performing district, William Obrien Middle School consistently performs significantly below the Washoe County and Nevada state averages in standardized test scores across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 9.5% of students were proficient or better in SBAC Mathematics, compared to 36.4% in Washoe County and 35.4% statewide. The school also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 25.6% to 36.4% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's performance varies greatly among different student subgroups, with Hispanic and low-socioeconomic status students performing better than their White and Special Education peers.

Compared to nearby middle schools in the Washoe County School District, such as Sky Ranch Middle School, Yvonne Shaw Middle School, and Darrel Swope Middle School, William Obrien Middle School generally underperforms in academic achievement and has higher chronic absenteeism rates. The school's relatively lower spending per student and smaller class sizes may indicate that resources are not being effectively utilized to improve student outcomes.

1,067
Students ?
21.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$8,735
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 5000 Silver Lake Rd
       Reno, NV  89506

(775) 677-5420

District: Washoe County


Students who attend William Obrien Middle School usually attend:

High:    North Valleys High School

Feeder schools for William Obrien Middle School:

Elementary:    Alice Smith Elementary
    Desert Heights Elementary
    Lemmon Valley Elementary
    Stead Elementary
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
55.4%
White:
25.7%
Two or more races:
6.7%
more
 See top rated Nevada middle schools

 Compare William Obrien Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2014 → 11th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Nevada average (18% vs 39% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 27% Nevada)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school18%
District avg39%
Nevada avg39%
134th of 151
Nevada public middle schools ?
Bottom 11%▼ down 26 pts since 2016
From bottom 37% (2016) to bottom 11% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Nevada Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
14th of 18Middle Schools in the Washoe County
4th of 12Washoe County among Nevada 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 rankNevada percentileRating
202512.0134 of 15111.3%★☆☆☆☆
202411.6136 of 15311.1%★☆☆☆☆
202310.4139 of 1528.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.3130 of 15113.9%★☆☆☆☆
202117.0115 of 14520.7%★☆☆☆☆
201915.3138 of 15913.2%★☆☆☆☆
201840.566 of 11442.1%★★☆☆☆
201737.175 of 12640.5%★★☆☆☆
201638.977 of 12236.9%★★☆☆☆
201447.164 of 11745.3%★★☆☆☆
201349.461 of 12149.6%★★★☆☆
201223.963 of 8425.0%★☆☆☆☆
201113.867 of 8218.3%★☆☆☆☆
201015.955 of 7021.4%★☆☆☆☆
200932.554 of 8334.9%★★☆☆☆
200827.157 of 8230.5%★★☆☆☆
200649.036 of 7149.3%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201831.361 of 7518.7%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201839.562 of 10641.5%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201848.438 of 9560.0%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201847.747 of 10053.0%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201842.058 of 10846.3%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201846.835 of 6041.7%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201824.877 of 848.3%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNevada percentileRating
201829.180 of 10523.8%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Hispanic (2018)60th percentile+18 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2018)53rd percentile+11 vs school
Male (2018)46th percentile+4 vs school
Multi-racial (2018)42nd percentile~ school
Female (2018)42nd percentile~ school
White (2018)24th percentile-18 vs school
English Language Learner (2018)19th percentile-23 vs school
Special Education (2018)8th percentile-34 vs school
By subject vs Nevada (2024-2025) ?
Reading24%-22 vs state
Science23%-4 vs state
Mathematics10%-26 vs state

3.0
1 rating
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Frequently Asked Questions about William Obrien Middle School

Students at William Obrien Middle School are 55% Hispanic, 26% White, 7% Two or more races, 4% Pacific Islander, 4% Asian, 3% African American.

Students who attend William Obrien Middle School usually go on to attend North Valleys High School

William Obrien Middle School ranks in the bottom 11.3% of Nevada middle schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,067 students attended William Obrien Middle 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 Nevada 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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