Summary:
Zip code 19977 in Smyrna, Delaware, is served by two middle schools within the Smyrna School District, which together educate roughly 1,649 students in grades 4 through 8.
Smyrna Middle School (grades 7-8) is the larger of the two, enrolling 1,011 students, while Moore (John Bassett) School (grades 4-6) serves 638 students. These schools form a natural feeder pattern, with students moving from Moore to Smyrna Middle. Social Studies is a clear strength across both schools, with 7th graders at Smyrna Middle achieving 69.11% proficiency—nearly 10 points above the state average—and 5th graders at Moore reaching 67.69%, also beating the state. Attendance is another positive: chronic absenteeism is 11.0% at Moore and 12.2% at Smyrna Middle, both well below the state's 17.1%. Moore also enjoys a slightly better student-teacher ratio (14.8:1) compared to Smyrna Middle (16.8:1).
The most concerning trend is a sharp decline in 8th grade performance across all subjects, particularly math, where proficiency drops to just 20.00%—9.39 points below the state average and a 15.65-point fall from 4th grade levels. Science (10.56%) and ELA (34.17%) also lag in 8th grade. However, there is encouraging momentum: Smyrna Middle showed significant year-over-year improvement in 7th grade, with math jumping 10 points and Social Studies soaring 15.64 points. Moore's 6th graders are a bright spot, outperforming state averages in ELA, math, and Social Studies, though the school trails its own district in 4th and 5th grade math. Overall, these schools offer strong attendance and Social Studies instruction, but families should be aware of the 8th grade dip and the need for continued math support in the upper grades.
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