Gauger-Cobbs Middle School

Gauger-Cobbs Middle School in Newark, DE, serves 681 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Christina School District, which ranks 15th out of 34 districts in Delaware.

Gauger-Cobbs has held a 1-star rating for the past decade, placing it in the bottom 15-20% of Delaware middle schools. For the 2025-2026 school year, only 12.18% of 8th graders were proficient in math, compared to 69.03% at Waters (Alfred G.) Middle School and 51.98% at duPont (H.B.) Middle School—both located within a 10-mile radius. The school does invest heavily in resources, spending $16,374 per student and maintaining a low student-teacher ratio of 10.9 (compared to 17.0 at Waters). Yet this investment hasn't translated into academic success, suggesting the challenges are more complex than funding or class size alone. Chronic absenteeism, while improving from a peak of 42.5% in 2020-2021, remains high at 22.1%—nearly three times the rate at Waters (7.4%) and duPont (H.B.) (7.5%).

There are some notable bright spots. The school's work with Special Education students ranks in the 43rd percentile (3 stars), showing that targeted support can work for certain groups. However, performance with other student groups is critically low, ranking in the 2nd percentile for White students and 6th percentile for Male students. When compared to its immediate peers in the Christina School District, Gauger-Cobbs is not an outlier—Kirk (George V.) Middle School, just over a mile away, has similar rankings and test scores, while Shue-Medill Middle School performs slightly better. This suggests the challenges are systemic within this part of the district. The stark contrast with nearby Appoquinimink School District schools, like 5-star Waters Middle School just 10.8 miles away, highlights how district-level policies and community factors can dramatically shape outcomes.