Summary:
Meridian, Idaho, is home to 7 public middle schools serving grades 6–8, all part of Joint School District No. 2, a district ranked 12th out of 101 in Idaho and rated 4 stars. The five traditional comprehensive campuses—Victory Middle School, Heritage Middle School, Meridian Middle School, Lewis & Clark Middle School, and Sawtooth Middle School—enroll between 829 and 1,075 students each, while Crossroads Middle School and Pathways Middle School are much smaller alternative-style campuses with roughly 122–124 students, very low student-teacher ratios, and per-pupil spending above $10,700.
The academic leaders are Heritage Middle School and Victory Middle School, both earning 5 stars and ranking in the top 15 of 174 Idaho middle schools. Heritage posts the city's highest math proficiency (66%), the lowest chronic absenteeism (10.7%), and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (18.74%). Victory counters with the highest ELA proficiency (79%), 65% math proficiency, and the largest enrollment at 1,075. Sawtooth Middle School is a strong third, ranking 23rd with 62.4% math and 69.7% ELA proficiency. Lewis & Clark Middle School sits in the middle of the pack, ranking 57th with 45.1% math proficiency and a free/reduced lunch rate near 41%.
The school most in need of attention is Meridian Middle School, whose state ranking has slid from 65th to 98th over two years, dropping it to 2 stars with math proficiency at 38.4% and chronic absenteeism at 23.9%. The two smallest schools post the lowest test scores—Crossroads Middle School at 28.6% math and Pathways Middle School at 19.8%—and despite spending far more per student and holding student-teacher ratios near 8 to 1, they still face steep challenges with high absenteeism and free/reduced lunch rates near 50%. Across the city, only Heritage falls below district and state chronic absenteeism averages, and the gap between the highest- and lowest-performing schools is stark, with math proficiency ranging from 66% down to 19.8%.
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