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Sanford Middle School

Public Grades 5-8
67th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 91 Maine Middle Schools
Better than 26% of Maine middle schools
Summary

Sanford Middle School is a public middle school in Sanford, Maine, serving 923 students in grades 5-8. The school is part of the Sanford Public Schools district, which is ranked 142 out of 176 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sanford Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom half of Maine middle schools, indicating significant underperformance compared to its peers. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science are below the state averages, and its performance has declined over the years. Notably, the school's chronic absenteeism rates are significantly higher than the state average, ranging from 23.4% to 30.2% in recent years. Additionally, Sanford Middle School serves a high proportion of students from low-income families, with 47.39% to 55.72% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

While the school's overall performance is concerning, there are some bright spots. For instance, Sanford Middle School's Hispanic students perform relatively well, ranking 7th out of 30 schools in 2024-2025. However, other student subgroups, such as White, multi-racial, English Language Learners, Special Education, and Low Socioeconomic Status students, struggle significantly, ranking in the bottom half of schools. The school's low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 12.1 to 12.4, suggests that class sizes may not be a significant factor in the school's challenges.

920
Students ?
13.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$17,378
Per pupil spending ?
55.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 52 Spartan Dr
       Sanford, ME  04073

(207) 324-3114

District: Sanford Public Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:
81.7%
Two or more races:
6.8%
African American:
5.2%
more
 See top rated Maine middle schools

 Compare Sanford Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 14th percentile in 2021 → 26th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2021
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Maine average (46% vs 53% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school46%
District avg46%
Maine avg53%
67th of 91
Maine public middle schools ?
Bottom 26%▲ up 12 pts since 2021
From bottom 14% (2021) to bottom 26% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Maine Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
142nd of 176Sanford Public Schools among Maine 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202530.067 of 9126.4%★☆☆☆☆
202434.762 of 9232.6%★★☆☆☆
202329.873 of 9624.0%★☆☆☆☆
202217.279 of 9315.1%★☆☆☆☆
202119.779 of 9214.1%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202535.712 of 1936.8%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202534.16 of 1145.5%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202529.770 of 9123.1%★☆☆☆☆
202116.373 of 8312.0%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202576.67 of 3076.7%★★★★☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202563.23 of 1070.0%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202526.266 of 9127.5%★☆☆☆☆
202114.556 of 6615.2%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202532.064 of 9028.9%★☆☆☆☆
202114.073 of 8312.0%★☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
20257.010 of 119.1%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202544.521 of 3132.3%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202517.865 of 8624.4%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMaine percentileRating
202524.356 of 7929.1%★★☆☆☆
202130.536 of 4418.2%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2025)77th percentile+50 vs school
Homeless (2025)70th percentile+44 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)45th percentile+19 vs school
African American (2025)37th percentile+10 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)32nd percentile+6 vs school
White (2025)29th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2025)29th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)27th percentile~ school
Special Education (2025)24th percentile~ school
Female (2025)23rd percentile-3 vs school
Military Connected (2025)9th percentile-17 vs school
By subject vs Maine (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts58%-6 vs state
Mathematics41%-9 vs state
Science31%-5 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Sanford Middle School

Sanford Middle School ranks 67th of 91 Maine middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 920 students attended Sanford Middle School.

Students at Sanford Middle School are 82% White, 7% Two or more races, 5% African American, 5% Hispanic, 1% Asian.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maine 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.





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