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Walden Middle

Q: Is Walden Middle a good school?

Walden Middle ranks 132 nd of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

132^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 438 Missouri Middle Schools

Better than 70% of Missouri middle schools

Summary

Walden Middle is a public middle school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving 745 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Park Hill School District, which is ranked 84 out of 367 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Walden Middle consistently ranks in the top 25% of Missouri middle schools, with particularly strong performance in certain student subgroups. However, the school struggles with English Language Learner and Special Education students, ranking in the bottom 50% for these groups. While the school's test scores in Mathematics, Science, and English Language Arts are generally higher than state and district averages, 8th-grade Mathematics scores are significantly lower. Walden Middle excels in Algebra I, with nearly all students proficient or better, far exceeding district and state averages. The school also experiences a relatively high chronic absenteeism rate, which may be contributing to lower academic performance in some areas.

Compared to nearby schools, Walden Middle appears to be a strong-performing middle school within its district, but there are opportunities to improve support for specific student subgroups and address the high chronic absenteeism rate. Lakeview Middle consistently outperforms Walden Middle, while Congress Middle and Plaza Middle lag behind in several academic areas. The performance of schools in the North Kansas City 74 district varies, with some outperforming and others underperforming Walden Middle.

730

Students ?

13.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,688

Per pupil spending ?

30.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4701 NW 56th Street
Kansas City, MO 64151-2650

(816) 359-4240

District: Park Hill

Students who attend Walden Middle usually attend:

High:

Park Hill South High

Feeder schools for Walden Middle:

Elementary:	Line Creek Elementary
	Southeast Elementary
	Union Chapel Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.5%

African American:

14.2%

Hispanic:

12.9%

See top rated Missouri middle schools

Compare Walden Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 76th percentile in 2021 → 70th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Missouri average (47% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Above the Missouri median (70th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2021

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school47%

District avg49%

Missouri avg41%

132^nd of 438

Missouri public middle schools ?

Top 30%▼ down 7 pts since 2021

From top 24% (2021) to top 30% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Missouri Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Middle Schools in the Park Hill

84^th of 367Park Hill among Missouri 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	66.0	132 of 438	69.9%	★★★★☆
2024	69.2	116 of 451	74.3%	★★★★☆
2023	68.8	114 of 459	75.2%	★★★★☆
2022	76.3	81 of 459	82.4%	★★★★☆
2021	69.2	107 of 454	76.4%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	65.1	34 of 143	76.2%	★★★★☆
2024	64.2	39 of 144	72.9%	★★★★☆
2023	65.2	43 of 153	71.9%	★★★★☆
2022	71.5	31 of 148	79.1%	★★★★☆
2021	77.8	20 of 135	85.2%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2022	54.0	74 of 187	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	48.5	83 of 195	57.4%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	26.3	69 of 81	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	44.4	42 of 72	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.4	44 of 68	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	55.3	28 of 68	58.8%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	48.4	44 of 90	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	54.5	31 of 74	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.5	28 of 74	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.6	28 of 67	58.2%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	32.8	269 of 369	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.0	302 of 378	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	45.6	207 of 382	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.3	224 of 365	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	48.3	180 of 371	51.5%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	33.8	135 of 196	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.1	116 of 194	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.0	55 of 192	71.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Missouri percentile	Rating
2025	77.6	58 of 358	83.8%	★★★★☆
2024	77.2	60 of 379	84.2%	★★★★☆
2023	75.8	64 of 385	83.4%	★★★★☆
2022	82.7	40 of 381	89.5%	★★★★☆
2021	76.4	59 of 376	84.3%	★★★★☆

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)

White (2025)84th percentile+14 vs school

African American (2025)76th percentile+6 vs school

Disabled (2022)60th percentile-22 vs school

Hispanic (2025)51st percentile-19 vs school

Special Education (2025)31st percentile-39 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)27th percentile-43 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)15th percentile-55 vs school

By subject vs Missouri (2024-2025) ?

Algebra I97%+52 vs state

Science48%+8 vs state

English Language Arts45%+5 vs state

Mathematics43%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Walden Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MAP Mathematics (2025)			MAP Science (2025)	MAP English Language Arts (2025)			MAP Algebra I (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAP Mathematics 6th Grade	MAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAP Science 8th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAP Algebra I End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Walden Middle	Public	6-8	4701 NW 56th Street	Kansas City	64151	Platte County	Park Hill	No	No	No	No	(816) 359-4240	730	56	13.0	30.1%	442 (60.5%)	104 (14.2%)	94 (12.9%)	24 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.4%)	56 (7.7%)	66	132^nd of 438 public middle schools	69.9%		69.2	116^th of 451 public middle schools	74.3%	16	47.1	52.5	24.9	47.5	44.9	43.6	47.8	97.2	$15,688	$604	$15,084
Lakeview Middle	Public	6-8	6720 NW 64th St	Kansas City	64151	Platte County	Park Hill	No	No	No	No	(816) 359-4220	653	55	11.9	20.4%	490 (75.0%)	53 (8.1%)	55 (8.4%)	6 (0.9%)	3 (0.5%)	6 (0.9%)	40 (6.1%)	83.2	57^th of 438 public middle schools	87.0%		89.4	33^rd of 451 public middle schools	92.7%	24	62.4	60.2	41.0	49.0	57.6	54.2	54.6		$17,101	$463	$16,637
Plaza Middle	Public	6-8	6501 NW 72nd St	Kansas City	64151	Platte County	Park Hill	No	No	No	No	(816) 359-4210	673	54	12.3	34.6%	374 (55.6%)	118 (17.5%)	82 (12.2%)	24 (3.6%)	3 (0.4%)	24 (3.6%)	48 (7.1%)	55.1	192^nd of 438 public middle schools	56.2%		60	162^nd of 451 public middle schools	64.1%	30	46.1	36.5	31.7	36.7	39.3	43.2	42.1		$16,018	$213	$15,806
Congress Middle	Public	6-8	8150 N Congress Ave	Kansas City	64153	Platte County	Park Hill	No	No	No	No	(816) 359-4230	601	52	11.6	30.9%	371 (61.7%)	87 (14.5%)	71 (11.8%)	22 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.5%)	35 (5.8%)	52.7	203^rd of 438 public middle schools	53.7%		60.9	157^th of 451 public middle schools	65.2%	46	51.1	45.6	21.7	31.6	41.5	39.1	37.8		$17,685	$260	$17,425
Northgate Middle	Public	7-8	2117 NE 48th St	Kansas City	64118	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5300	689	54	12.6	66.6%	228 (33.1%)	174 (25.3%)	122 (17.7%)	51 (7.4%)	1 (0.1%)	17 (2.5%)	96 (13.9%)	41.5	262^nd of 438 public middle schools	40.2%		35.7	297^th of 451 public middle schools	34.1%	35		36.7	19.6	29.2		41.5	34.5	90.5	$15,409	$520	$14,889
Antioch Middle	Public	7-8	2100 NE 65th St	Gladstone	64118	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5260	886	59	14.9	40.1%	474 (53.5%)	127 (14.3%)	142 (16.0%)	23 (2.6%)	1 (0.1%)	20 (2.3%)	99 (11.2%)	69.8	108^th of 438 public middle schools	75.3%		68.6	118^th of 451 public middle schools	73.8%	10		46.0	38.7	43.6		46.8	51.6	95.2	$14,368	$517	$13,850
Platte Purchase Middle School	Public	6-8	9400 N Platte Purchase Dr	Kansas City	64155	Platte County	Platte County R-III	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(816) 436-1433	368	29	12.5	35.6%	189 (51.4%)	90 (24.5%)	44 (12.0%)	26 (7.1%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	13 (3.5%)	71.7	99^th of 438 public middle schools	77.4%		63	145^th of 451 public middle schools	67.8%	46	52.6	42.9	43.5	52.7	40.2	44.2	64.8		$14,226	$16	$14,210
Eastgate 6th Grade Center	Public	6	4700 NE Parvin Rd	Kansas City	64117	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5270	629	50	12.6	63.4%	241 (38.3%)	147 (23.4%)	117 (18.6%)	26 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.1%)	84 (13.4%)								(n/a)	38.2				35.0				$14,622	$518	$14,104
Gateway 6th Grade Center	Public	6	9201 N Indiana Ave	Kansas City	64156	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5360	882	59	14.9	36.1%	485 (55.0%)	121 (13.7%)	142 (16.1%)	28 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.0%)	97 (11.0%)								(n/a)	65.5				53.9				$14,167	$519	$13,649
Maple Park Middle	Public	7-8	5300 N Bennington	Kansas City	64119	Clay County	North Kansas City 74	No	No	No	No	(816) 321-5280	585	55	10.6	63.4%	271 (46.3%)	127 (21.7%)	103 (17.6%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	69 (11.8%)	44.7	242^nd of 438 public middle schools	44.7%		36.6	294^th of 451 public middle schools	34.8%	52		39.9	26.6	28.9		44.0	30.6		$16,537	$513	$16,023

Frequently Asked Questions about Walden Middle

What high school do graduates of Walden Middle attend?

Students who attend Walden Middle usually go on to attend Park Hill South High

What district is Walden Middle in?

Park Hill

What is the racial makeup of Walden Middle?

Students at Walden Middle are 61% White, 14% African American, 13% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

Is Walden Middle a good school?

Walden Middle ranks 132^nd of 438 Missouri middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Walden Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 730 students attended Walden Middle.

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