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First State Military Academy

Q: Is First State Military Academy a good school?

First State Military Academy ranks 23 rd of 41 Delaware high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades 9-12

23^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 41 Delaware High Schools

Better than 44% of Delaware high schools

Summary

First State Military Academy is a public charter high school located in Clayton, Delaware, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 416 students. The school is part of the First State Military Academy District, which is ranked 15 out of 32 districts in Delaware and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

First State Military Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Delaware high schools, ranking between 23-27 out of 39-41 schools over the past 5 years, and has maintained a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger over the same period, indicating below-average performance compared to other high schools in the state. The school's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates on standardized tests, is generally below the state average in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. For example, in 2024-2025, only 45.45% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in SAT/English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 47.41%. However, the school has performed exceptionally well for low socioeconomic status students, ranking 4 out of 29 high schools in 2018-2019.

Compared to nearby high schools, such as POLYTECH High School, Appoquinimink High School, and Caesar Rodney High School, First State Military Academy's performance is generally lower, with these nearby schools having higher statewide rankings and ratings, higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and better academic performance on standardized tests. The school's high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 9.8% to 31.2% over the past 2 years, also contribute to its overall lower performance.

433

Students ?

18.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

35.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

355 West Duck Creek Road
Clayton, DE 19938

(302) 223-2150

District: First State Military Academy

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.4%

African American:

32.8%

Hispanic:

11.8%

See top rated Delaware high schools

Compare First State Military Academy to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 35th percentile in 2019 → 44th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Delaware average (24% vs 30% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (25% vs 17% Delaware)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school24%

District avg24%

Delaware avg30%

23^rd of 41

Delaware public high schools ?

Bottom 44%▲ up 9 pts since 2019

From bottom 35% (2019) to bottom 44% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Delaware High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

15^th of 32First State Military Academy among Delaware 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	38.1	23 of 41	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.4	24 of 41	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.5	24 of 39	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.2	25 of 39	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.7	27 of 39	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	28.6	26 of 40	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	56.6	10 of 35	71.4%	★★★★☆
2021	27.3	22 of 27	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	47.7	20 of 40	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	32.3	24 of 39	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.5	22 of 38	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.2	14 of 37	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.1	21 of 36	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.1	21 of 41	48.8%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2019	83.8	4 of 29	86.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	35.0	23 of 40	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.4	21 of 39	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.4	11 of 38	71.1%	★★★★☆
2022	27.8	25 of 37	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.4	27 of 36	25.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	26.9	28 of 41	31.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2025	20.8	30 of 35	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.4	31 of 35	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.6	27 of 34	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.6	23 of 33	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.9	25 of 34	26.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.7	30 of 36	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2019)86th percentile+51 vs school

African American (2025)71st percentile+28 vs school

Female (2025)50th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)42nd percentile~ school

White (2025)14th percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs Delaware (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts45%~ state avg

Essay23%-9 vs state

Social Studies22%-6 vs state

Science21%~ state avg

Mathematics9%-9 vs state

★

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Schools Near First State Military Academy

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				DeSSA Science (2025)		DeSSA Social Studies (2025)			SAT English Language Arts (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	SAT Essay (2025)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DeSSA Science 9th Grade	DeSSA Science 10th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 7th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 8th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 11th Grade	SAT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	SAT Essay 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Total
First State Military Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	355 West Duck Creek Road	Clayton	19938	Kent County	First State Military Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 223-2150	433	24	18.0		214 (49.4%)	142 (32.8%)	51 (11.8%)	9 (2.1%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	14 (3.2%)	38.1	23^rd of 41 public high schools	43.9%		33.4	24^th of 41 public high schools	41.5%	1		21.1			21.9	45.5	9.1	23.3
Smyrna High School	Public	9-12	500 Duck Creek Parkway	Smyrna	19977	Kent County	Smyrna School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 653-8581	1,777	100	17.7		861 (48.5%)	634 (35.7%)	183 (10.3%)	21 (1.2%)	4 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	72 (4.1%)	46.1	20^th of 41 public high schools	51.2%		39.8	20^th of 41 public high schools	51.2%			21.6			18.8	48.3	12.3	35.7				$16,865
Early College School at Del State	Public, Charter	7-12	1570 North DuPont Highway	Dover	19901	Kent County	Early College High School at Del State	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 857-3510	583	24	24.2		45 (7.7%)	463 (79.4%)	54 (9.3%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	14 (2.4%)	48.1	18^th of 41 public high schools	56.1%		56.1	18^th of 41 public high schools	56.1%			18.9	56.3	19.3	21.4	47.1	10.0	46.4	35.8	21.8	21.3
Odessa High School	Public	9-12	570 Tony Marchio Drive	Townsend	19734	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 842-2625	1,254	83	15.0		599 (47.8%)	450 (35.9%)	98 (7.8%)	42 (3.3%)	11 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	52 (4.1%)	77.8	5^th of 41 public high schools	87.8%		77.9	6^th of 41 public high schools	85.4%	1	40.3	26.7			45.4	64.2	25.2	40.8				$17,060
Dover High School	Public	9-12	One Dover High Drive	Dover	19904	Kent County	Capital School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 241-2400	1,812	88	20.5		340 (18.8%)	1,022 (56.4%)	295 (16.3%)	32 (1.8%)	10 (0.6%)	10 (0.6%)	103 (5.7%)	29.5	28^th of 41 public high schools	31.7%		27.9	28^th of 41 public high schools	31.7%		24.2	13.1			21.6	28.9	10.6	28.3				$18,334
Middletown High School	Public	9-12	120 Silver Lake Road	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 376-4141	1,231	80	15.3		492 (40.0%)	448 (36.4%)	118 (9.6%)	101 (8.2%)	3 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	68 (5.5%)	51.1	17^th of 41 public high schools	58.5%		73.4	9^th of 41 public high schools	78.0%	8	29.2	18.7			20.6	53.2	19.2	35.5				$19,820
Appoquinimink High School	Public	9-12	1080 Bunker Hill Road	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 449-3840	1,357	89	15.2		608 (44.8%)	422 (31.1%)	110 (8.1%)	155 (11.4%)	8 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	51 (3.8%)	75.6	7^th of 41 public high schools	82.9%		74	8^th of 41 public high schools	80.5%	1	38.4	24.4			33.1	60.1	29.4	48.9				$20,258
Caesar Rodney High School	Public	9-12	239 Old North Road	Camden	19934	Kent County	Caesar Rodney School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 697-2161	2,254	128	17.6		984 (43.7%)	733 (32.5%)	259 (11.5%)	97 (4.3%)	7 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	172 (7.6%)	65.9	11^th of 41 public high schools	73.2%		56.3	17^th of 41 public high schools	58.5%	6	41.0	28.4			27.8	57.6	22.0	37.3				$16,021
Positive Outcomes Charter School	Public, Charter	7-12	3337 South DuPont Highway	Camden	19934	Kent County	Positive Outcomes Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(302) 697-8805	119	13	9.1		58 (48.7%)	50 (42.0%)	4 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.0%)								(n/a)
POLYTECH High School	Public	9-12	823 Walnut Shade Road	Woodside	19901	Kent County	POLYTECH School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 697-3255	1,228	80	15.3		666 (54.2%)	305 (24.8%)	129 (10.5%)	19 (1.5%)	4 (0.3%)	4 (0.3%)	101 (8.2%)	58	15^th of 41 public high schools	63.4%		60	13^th of 41 public high schools	68.3%	2	72.4	18.0			29.2	56.8	17.0	37.6				$21,677

Frequently Asked Questions about First State Military Academy

Is First State Military Academy a good school?

First State Military Academy ranks 23^rd of 41 Delaware high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of First State Military Academy?

Students at First State Military Academy are 49% White, 33% African American, 12% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What district is First State Military Academy in?

First State Military Academy

How many students attend First State Military Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 433 students attended First State Military Academy.

Rate First State Military Academy!

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