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McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School

Q: Is McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School a good school?

McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.3% of Delaware middle schools.

Q: How many students attend McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 615 students attended McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School?

Students at McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School are 45% African American, 38% Hispanic, 12% White, 4% Two or more races.

Public Grades 6-8

55^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 60 Delaware Middle Schools

Better than 8% of Delaware middle schools

Summary

McCullough (Calvin R.) Middle School serves 615 students in grades 6-8 in New Castle, DE, as part of the Colonial School District.

McCullough is currently ranked 55th out of 59 middle schools in Delaware, placing it in the bottom 7% of schools statewide. The most significant challenge facing the school is chronic absenteeism—nearly 40% of students are chronically absent, which is more than double the state average of 17% and significantly higher than nearby schools like Talley Middle School (9.7%) and duPont (Pierre S.) Middle School (12.1%). Academic proficiency rates are severely depressed across all subjects. In English Language Arts, only 15-19% of students meet proficiency standards compared to roughly 40% statewide. Math proficiency is even lower, with just 7-12% of students proficient versus about 31% statewide. Eighth-grade science proficiency is particularly alarming at just 3.1%, compared to 16.4% statewide. Even within the same district, Read (George) Middle School, located just two miles away, achieves nearly double the math proficiency and has significantly lower absenteeism (28.7% vs. 39.7%).

There are some encouraging signs. Social studies scores are relatively stronger, with 6th graders achieving 32.1% proficiency, closer to the state average of 49.2%. Additionally, math scores have shown slight improvement over the past few years, rising from 4.6% proficiency in 2022-2023 to 12.2% in 2025-2026 for 6th grade. However, the school faces notable resource challenges—it spends approximately $14,743 per student, which is less than all comparable schools in the region, including Springer Middle School ($16,068) and duPont (Pierre S.) Middle School ($18,633). The school also maintains a higher student-teacher ratio (17.5:1) than most peers. While the modest improvements in recent years offer hope, the combination of high absenteeism, low academic achievement, and limited resources suggests that substantial intervention will be needed to change the school's trajectory.

615

Students ?

17.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,377

Per pupil spending ?

99.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

20 Chase Avenue
New Castle, DE 19720-1299

(302) 429-4000

District: Colonial School District

Students who attend McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School usually attend:

High:

Penn (William) High School

Feeder schools for McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School:

Elementary:	Eisenberg (Harry O.) Elementary School
	New Castle Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

45.4%

Hispanic:

37.6%

White:

11.7%

See top rated Delaware middle schools

Compare McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — <1st percentile in 2024 → 8th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 8th (2026) from a <1st-percentile low (2024)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Delaware average (17% vs 38% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (40% vs 17% Delaware)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school17%

District avg25%

Delaware avg38%

55^th of 60

Delaware public middle schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 9 pts since 2016

From bottom 17% (2016) to bottom 8% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Delaware Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd 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	10.9	55 of 60	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.0	57 of 59	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	54 of 54	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.9	52 of 53	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.3	50 of 51	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.2	46 of 47	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.5	47 of 52	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.1	32 of 35	8.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	14.1	31 of 35	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.1	29 of 35	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	20.5	39 of 49	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	20.6	31 of 37	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.9	34 of 38	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	23.5	34 of 38	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	20.0	40 of 46	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.4	46 of 49	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	42 of 42	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.0	43 of 43	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.4	41 of 41	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.0	39 of 44	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	7.0	53 of 53	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.1	55 of 55	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.4	49 of 49	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.2	50 of 50	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	5.3	50 of 50	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.0	48 of 49	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	14.8	39 of 42	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.2	41 of 42	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	37 of 37	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	36 of 37	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	35 of 37	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.3	30 of 35	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	16.0	44 of 46	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.0	47 of 48	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	39 of 39	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.6	40 of 40	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.5	38 of 38	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.2	39 of 41	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2026	10.5	51 of 53	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.1	55 of 55	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.4	49 of 49	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.8	50 of 50	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.0	50 of 50	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.3	46 of 49	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Delaware percentile	Rating
2023	1.9	44 of 44	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	42 of 45	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.3	41 of 43	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2026)13th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2026)7th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)4th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)4th percentile-5 vs school

Female (2026)<1st percentile-8 vs school

White (2023)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Delaware (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies28%-21 vs state

English Language Arts17%-24 vs state

Mathematics10%-21 vs state

Science3%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near McCullough (Calvin R. ) 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
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
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
duPont (Pierre S.) Middle School	Public	6-8	701 West 34th Street	Wilmington	19802	New Castle County	Brandywine School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 762-7146	730	60	12.1	33.0%	189 (25.9%)	358 (49.0%)	75 (10.3%)	53 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	53 (7.3%)	62.3	20^th of 60 public middle schools	66.7%		51.8	21^st of 59 public middle schools	64.4%	1	30.8	59.0	49.5	46.9	50.8	42.4	43.0	41.4	32.1	36.6	$26,286
duPont (Alexis I.) Middle School	Public	6-8	3130 Kennett Pike	Greenville	19807	New Castle County	Red Clay Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 651-2690	455	35	13.0	57.9%	71 (15.6%)	150 (33.0%)	210 (46.2%)	7 (1.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (3.1%)	11.5	54^th of 60 public middle schools	10.0%		10.7	54^th of 59 public middle schools	8.5%		6.0	23.8	26.9	21.2	15.9	14.8	30.8	7.1	8.1	9.0	$26,133
Stanton Middle School	Public	6-8	1800 Limestone Road	Wilmington	19804	New Castle County	Red Clay Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 992-5540	558	38	14.8	52.3%	102 (18.3%)	114 (20.4%)	321 (57.5%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.7%)	10	56^th of 60 public middle schools	6.7%		9.5	55^th of 59 public middle schools	6.8%	1	3.1	25.6	33.1	15.1	15.6	15.7	26.4	9.2	5.5	8.4	$25,022
Skyline Middle School	Public	6-8	2900 Skyline Drive	Wilmington	19808	New Castle County	Red Clay Consolidated School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 454-3410	408	35	11.6	38.9%	69 (16.9%)	217 (53.2%)	96 (23.5%)	12 (2.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.2%)	12.2	53^rd of 60 public middle schools	11.7%		11.5	53^rd of 59 public middle schools	10.2%		5.0	30.0	32.5	18.8	18.3	21.1	20.7	9.6	9.5	14.1	$28,582
Springer Middle School	Public	6-8	2220 Shipley Road	Wilmington	19803	New Castle County	Brandywine School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 479-1621	776	57	13.6	25.3%	376 (48.5%)	263 (33.9%)	61 (7.9%)	34 (4.4%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (5.0%)	49.7	26^th of 60 public middle schools	56.7%		48.9	24^th of 59 public middle schools	59.3%	2	20.1	52.6	56.5	35.9	43.6	44.8	41.8	30.7	27.0	23.4	$21,668
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
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School

Is McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School a good school?

McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.3% of Delaware middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School?

Students at McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School are 45% African American, 38% Hispanic, 12% White, 4% Two or more races.

How many students attend McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 615 students attended McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School.

What district is McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School in?

Colonial School District

What high school do graduates of McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School attend?

Students who attend McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School usually go on to attend Penn (William) High School

Rate McCullough (Calvin R. ) Middle School!

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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.