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Bedford (Gunning) Middle School

Q: Is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School a good school?

Bedford (Gunning) Middle School ranks 42 nd of 60 Delaware middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

42^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 60 Delaware Middle Schools

Better than 30% of Delaware middle schools

Summary

Bedford (Gunning) Middle School serves 846 students in grades 6-8 in New Castle, DE, as part of the Colonial School District. It's one of the larger middle schools in the area, and while it consistently outperforms its district averages across most subjects, it ranks in the lower third of schools statewide.

Within the Colonial district, Bedford is a relative bright spot. For example, 7th grade social studies proficiency (64.4%) far exceeds the district average (48.6%) and even beats the state average. The school also outperforms its district peers like McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School and Read (George) Middle School in most subjects. However, the picture changes dramatically when compared to nearby schools in the Appoquinimink School District. Waters (Alfred G.) Middle School, just over 5 miles away, posts 8th grade math proficiency of 69% versus Bedford's 21%, and 8th grade ELA of 71% versus 29%. This stark gap highlights significant differences in outcomes between neighboring districts.

The school's biggest challenges are chronic absenteeism (28.5% of students miss significant instructional time, well above the state average of 17.1%) and very low science proficiency (only 8.8% of 8th graders are proficient, less than half the state rate). On a positive note, Bedford has improved its student-teacher ratio from 17.3 to 15.1 over the past few years, and its Multi-racial students perform exceptionally well, ranking in the top tier of the state. While the school offers a better experience than other Colonial district options, families with school choice flexibility may want to explore the higher-performing schools in the nearby Appoquinimink district.

846

Students ?

15.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,405

Per pupil spending ?

28.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

801 Cox Neck Road
New Castle, DE 19720-5705

(302) 832-6280

District: Colonial School District

Students who attend Bedford (Gunning) Middle School usually attend:

High:

Penn (William) High School

Feeder schools for Bedford (Gunning) Middle School:

Elementary:	Southern Elementary School
	Wilbur (Kathleen H.) Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

50.5%

White:

26.0%

Hispanic:

15.5%

See top rated Delaware middle schools

Compare Bedford (Gunning) Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 20th percentile in 2024 → 30th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 30th (2026) from a 20th-percentile low (2024)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Delaware average (27% vs 38% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 17% Delaware)

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school27%

District avg25%

Delaware avg38%

42^nd of 60

Delaware public middle schools ?

Bottom 30%▼ down 13 pts since 2016

From bottom 43% (2016) to bottom 30% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Delaware Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Middle Schools in the Colonial School District

25^th of 34Colonial School District 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
2026	28.5	42 of 60	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.5	43 of 59	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.1	43 of 54	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.3	41 of 53	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.2	38 of 51	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.6	33 of 47	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.1	36 of 52	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.4	23 of 35	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.2	22 of 35	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	49.4	20 of 35	42.9%	★★★☆☆
2015	50.1	27 of 49	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2013	49.2	22 of 37	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	49.7	22 of 38	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2011	43.1	23 of 38	39.5%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	40.0	26 of 46	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	38.8	27 of 49	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.6	28 of 42	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.3	24 of 43	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.0	24 of 41	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.8	12 of 20	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	59.9	13 of 44	70.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	29.2	40 of 53	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.3	41 of 55	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	40 of 49	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.5	36 of 50	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.2	37 of 50	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.7	28 of 38	26.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.5	34 of 49	30.6%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	21.7	35 of 42	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.3	31 of 42	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.9	27 of 37	27.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.3	23 of 37	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.3	22 of 37	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.8	20 of 35	42.9%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	23.6	39 of 46	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.3	35 of 48	27.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.4	30 of 39	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.3	28 of 40	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.6	24 of 38	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.9	15 of 19	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	41.1	22 of 41	46.3%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	20.8	43 of 53	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.0	44 of 55	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.5	40 of 49	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.4	41 of 50	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	39 of 50	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.0	27 of 38	28.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.0	34 of 49	30.6%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	69.6	5 of 17	70.6%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	17.6	22 of 23	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	23.6	18 of 22	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	13.1	43 of 46	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.9	43 of 47	8.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.3	40 of 45	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.0	41 of 44	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.4	37 of 45	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.0	35 of 41	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.7	31 of 43	27.9%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Multi-racial (2026)71st percentile+41 vs school

African American (2026)43rd percentile+13 vs school

Female (2026)25th percentile-5 vs school

Male (2026)19th percentile-11 vs school

Hispanic (2026)17th percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile-15 vs school

White (2026)7th percentile-23 vs school

Special Education (2026)4th percentile-26 vs school

By subject vs Delaware (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies45%-4 vs state

English Language Arts27%-14 vs state

Mathematics17%-14 vs state

Science9%-8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Bedford (Gunning) Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				DeSSA Science (2026)	DeSSA Social Studies (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)			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 (2016)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DeSSA Science 8th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 6th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 7th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Bedford (Gunning) Middle School	Public	6-8	801 Cox Neck Road	New Castle	19720	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 832-6280	846	56	15.1	28.4%	220 (26.0%)	427 (50.5%)	131 (15.5%)	21 (2.5%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (4.8%)	28.5	42^nd of 60 public middle schools	30.0%		24.5	43^rd of 59 public middle schools	27.1%	1	8.8	36.4	64.4	35.8	21.0	31.8	28.8	12.0	16.4	21.0	$24,405
Waters (Alfred G.) Middle School	Public	6-8	1235 Cedar Lane Road	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 449-3490	935	55	17.0	8.8%	401 (42.9%)	155 (16.6%)	45 (4.8%)	274 (29.3%)	8 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	50 (5.3%)	94.3	4^th of 60 public middle schools	93.3%		93.5	4^th of 59 public middle schools	93.2%		44.8	72.8	87.9	66.1	58.0	71.1	71.3	58.3	59.9	69.0	$18,142
Gauger-Cobbs Middle School	Public	6-8	50 Gender Road	Newark	19713	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 454-2358	681	62	10.9	39.8%	136 (20.0%)	263 (38.6%)	228 (33.5%)	14 (2.1%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	35 (5.1%)	15.8	50^th of 60 public middle schools	16.7%		17.4	48^th of 59 public middle schools	18.6%	2	3.3	31.2	42.5	11.3	25.9	19.3	22.8	17.2	21.2	12.2	$29,391
Read (George) Middle School	Public	6-8	314 East Basin Road	New Castle	19720	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 323-2760	662	49	13.5	39.7%	177 (26.7%)	278 (42.0%)	162 (24.5%)	11 (1.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (4.5%)	24.1	44^th of 60 public middle schools	26.7%		18	46^th of 59 public middle schools	22.0%	2	7.5	44.2	43.7	34.5	32.8	22.7	27.1	14.4	10.5	17.4	$24,736
Kirk (George V.) Middle School	Public	6-8	140 Brennen Drive	Newark	19713	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 722-2738	612	49	12.4	38.7%	137 (22.4%)	257 (42.0%)	135 (22.1%)	48 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34 (5.6%)	19.2	45^th of 60 public middle schools	25.0%		15.4	49^th of 59 public middle schools	16.9%	4	8.2	29.7	43.5	17.3	17.8	30.0	26.3	15.1	21.8	17.1	$27,723
Cantwells Bridge Middle School	Public	6-8	550 Tony Marchio Drive	Townsend	19734	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 376-4128	852	48	17.8		398 (46.7%)	267 (31.3%)	82 (9.6%)	48 (5.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (6.3%)	70.3	16^th of 60 public middle schools	73.3%		68.1	15^th of 59 public middle schools	74.6%	1	18.4	71.0	78.2	45.9	51.0	52.8	49.1	44.6	36.2	34.9	$16,853
Redding (Louis L.) Middle School	Public	6-8	201 New Street	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 378-5030	451	31	14.5	19.7%	127 (28.2%)	203 (45.0%)	65 (14.4%)	29 (6.4%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.3%)	44.6	29^th of 60 public middle schools	51.7%		37	35^th of 59 public middle schools	40.7%	6	15.4	55.5	61.1	35.3	36.1	38.5	29.9	28.3	24.2	25.2	$94,844
Meredith (Everett) Middle School	Public	6-8	504 South Broad Street	Middletown	19709	New Castle County	Appoquinimink School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 378-5001	867	62	13.9	17.1%	372 (42.9%)	274 (31.6%)	105 (12.1%)	59 (6.8%)	4 (0.5%)	4 (0.5%)	49 (5.7%)	57.2	21^st of 60 public middle schools	65.0%		58.3	19^th of 59 public middle schools	67.8%	2	12.9	55.9	68.0	41.7	43.5	57.4	47.1	30.7	33.5	28.4	$18,226
McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School	Public	6-8	20 Chase Avenue	New Castle	19720	New Castle County	Colonial School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 429-4000	615	35	17.5	99.6%	72 (11.7%)	279 (45.4%)	231 (37.6%)	3 (0.5%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.2%)	10.9	55^th of 60 public middle schools	8.3%		8	57^th of 59 public middle schools	3.4%	2	3.1	32.1	32.1	16.9	19.4	15.5	17.2	12.2	7.2	9.7	$24,377
Shue-Medill Middle School	Public	6-8	1500 Capitol Trail	Newark	19711	New Castle County	Christina School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 454-2171	763	64	11.9	38.0%	203 (26.6%)	306 (40.1%)	183 (24.0%)	19 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (6.7%)	31.3	40^th of 60 public middle schools	33.3%		26.3	41^st of 59 public middle schools	30.5%	1	12.6	39.7	43.5	35.4	30.6	33.0	31.1	20.9	25.9	21.6	$29,022

Frequently Asked Questions about Bedford (Gunning) Middle School

How many students attend Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 846 students attended Bedford (Gunning) Middle School.

What district is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School in?

Colonial School District

Is Bedford (Gunning) Middle School a good school?

Bedford (Gunning) Middle School ranks 42^nd of 60 Delaware middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Bedford (Gunning) Middle School?

Students at Bedford (Gunning) Middle School are 50% African American, 26% White, 15% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Bedford (Gunning) Middle School attend?

Students who attend Bedford (Gunning) Middle School usually go on to attend Penn (William) High School

Rate Bedford (Gunning) Middle School!

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Schools in New Castle, DE

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Latest Delaware data All new data »

2023–24 through 2024–25 graduation ratesNewSep 29, 2026

2025–26 DeSSA, SAT & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresAug 18, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataMar 23, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 20, 2026

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.