Summary:
Zip code 66724 has one middle school, Southeast Middle School, serving grades 5–8 with 128 students. In 2025–26, its all-grades proficiency rates were 40% in English language arts (ELA), 22% in math, and 29% in science, compared with 46%, 41%, and 38% statewide. The clearest concern is math: the school was 19 percentage points below the state overall, with results below the state in every tested grade.
There is no top or bottom school to compare within the area, but results at Southeast Middle School vary notably by subject and grade. Sixth-grade ELA stands out: 50% were proficient, 8 points above the state rate of 42%; seventh-grade ELA was close to the state, just 1 point lower. In contrast, seventh-grade math was 13%, 24 points below the state, and math was the school’s weakest all-grades subject. Science is a relative strength compared with the district: the school’s 29% rate was 4 points above the Cherokee district, though still 9 points below the state.
Scores improved in ELA and science from 2024–25 to 2025–26, but math made little progress against a rising state rate: school math increased by 1 point, while the state rate rose by 2 points, widening the school’s math gap from 17 to 19 points. Separately, SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking improved from 307 of 363 schools (15th percentile) in 2024–25 to 268 of 368 (27th percentile) in 2025–26, a rise of 12 percentile points; this ranking is not the same as a test-score measure. The school also had lower chronic absenteeism than the district and state—9% versus 18% for each—and reported a 9.5:1 student–teacher ratio and a 70% free/reduced-lunch rate. Those figures offer context, not an explanation for achievement.
Thank you for your feedback!