Fort Dodge Middle School

Fort Dodge Middle School is a public middle school serving 774 students in grades 6-8 in Fort Dodge, Iowa, which is part of the Fort Dodge Community School District. The school consistently underperforms compared to the state average on academic assessments, with proficiency rates ranging from 54.1% to 67.5% across different grade levels and subjects, while the state averages range from 70.5% to 80.2%.

Fort Dodge Middle School also faces challenges with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 21.6% to 39.6% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 57.49% to 62.19% in recent years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. These factors may be contributing to the school's lower academic performance compared to the state and nearby schools, such as Webster City Middle School, Robert Blue School, Humboldt Middle School, and Southeast Valley Middle School, which generally outperform Fort Dodge Middle School on academic measures and have lower chronic absenteeism rates.

Fort Dodge Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Iowa middle schools based on the SchoolDigger statewide ranking, with a 0-star or 1-star rating in most years, indicating a persistent challenge in improving the school's overall performance and quality. The low ranking and 0-star rating of the Fort Dodge Community School District as a whole suggest that the district may be facing systemic challenges that are impacting the performance of its schools, including Fort Dodge Middle School.