Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Bessemer City Middle

Public Grades 6-8

641^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 17% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Bessemer City Middle is a public middle school located in Bessemer City, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 502 students. The school is part of the Gaston County Schools district, which is ranked 149 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Bessemer City Middle consistently underperforms compared to the Gaston County Schools district and the state of North Carolina in terms of proficiency rates on the End-of-Grade (EOG) tests for Mathematics, Reading, and Science. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates ranged from 27% to 41.4%, while the Gaston County Schools district and North Carolina had significantly higher rates. Additionally, Bessemer City Middle has a low statewide ranking, consistently placing in the bottom half of North Carolina middle schools, earning a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Bessemer City Middle performs relatively well for English Language Learner students, it struggles with other subgroups, such as White, Multi-racial, and Special Education students, who consistently rank in the bottom half or bottom third of their respective statewide rankings. This may be due to the school's extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 97.21% to 99.4% over the past few years, indicating a high concentration of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Nearby schools within the Gaston County Schools district, such as Stanley Middle and Cramerton Middle, consistently outperform Bessemer City Middle in academic proficiency rates and statewide rankings.

497

Students ?

17.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,249

Per pupil spending ?

99.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

525 Ed Wilson Road
Bessemer City, NC 28016

(704) 836-9602

District: Gaston County Schools

Students who attend Bessemer City Middle usually attend:

High:

Bessemer City High

Feeder schools for Bessemer City Middle:

Elementary:	Bessemer City Central Elementary
	Bessemer City Primary
	Edward D Sadler Junior Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

41.2%

African American:

27.4%

Hispanic:

23.7%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Bessemer City Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 23rd percentile in 2015 → 17th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (36% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school36%

District avg48%

North Carolina avg54%

641^st of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 17%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 23% (2015) to bottom 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 11Middle Schools in the Gaston County Schools

149^th of 242Gaston County Schools among North Carolina 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	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.6	641 of 773	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.2	579 of 793	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.1	460 of 784	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.0	591 of 786	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.3	517 of 741	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	28.3	568 of 737	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	542 of 691	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.0	550 of 694	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	21.2	560 of 692	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	25.5	542 of 705	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	27.6	459 of 627	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	26.6	497 of 673	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	28.7	529 of 662	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	36.1	472 of 648	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	30.8	504 of 640	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	35.3	474 of 630	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	33.5	450 of 620	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	38.7	437 of 606	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	47.8	369 of 598	38.3%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.9	436 of 546	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	37.2	349 of 560	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.1	249 of 559	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.8	349 of 550	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.1	338 of 533	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.0	397 of 519	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.3	374 of 494	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	32.4	295 of 449	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.0	430 of 478	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.6	346 of 504	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.2	324 of 475	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	54.0	110 of 371	70.4%	★★★★☆
2024	39.1	210 of 356	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.3	62 of 318	80.5%	★★★★☆
2022	40.9	163 of 312	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.5	126 of 236	46.6%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.5	615 of 733	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.2	583 of 738	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	46.7	384 of 731	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.9	478 of 733	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.2	438 of 706	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.3	574 of 684	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.7	551 of 656	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	34.2	393 of 562	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.8	419 of 564	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.8	318 of 553	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.8	421 of 541	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	58.7	165 of 522	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	51.2	225 of 493	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	36.6	334 of 472	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.9	578 of 729	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.8	542 of 743	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	54.7	295 of 735	59.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	34.3	462 of 689	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.9	408 of 633	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.6	460 of 639	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.2	447 of 604	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	20.4	600 of 733	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.3	540 of 751	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.7	504 of 747	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.9	627 of 748	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.7	537 of 711	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.8	503 of 697	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.2	526 of 665	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.0	298 of 328	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	44.4	171 of 302	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.2	193 of 283	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	54.3	93 of 248	62.5%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	19.3	449 of 473	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	11.3	606 of 649	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.8	552 of 652	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.5	495 of 656	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.8	604 of 658	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	575 of 632	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.0	581 of 624	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	563 of 596	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2025)70th percentile+53 vs school

Disabled (2022)34th percentile+9 vs school

Hispanic (2025)30th percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)21st percentile+4 vs school

African American (2025)20th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)18th percentile~ school

Female (2025)16th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)9th percentile-8 vs school

White (2025)7th percentile-10 vs school

Special Education (2024)5th percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science41%-19 vs state

Reading36%-17 vs state

Mathematics35%-19 vs state

3.7

3 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate Bessemer City Middle

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a student
Sunday, February 27, 2022

This school is very unhygienic there is literally bugs in all the lights,cracks everywhere and there was recently a act of sexual assult and the school did nothing about it untill threatened with being sued and still after that the child who sexually assaulted faced no punishment Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, January 3, 2017

loving it!!! Close Quote

by a student
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Bessemer City Middle Shool is a great school,teacher motivates their students so they can learn. During the past few years Bessemer City Middle School hasen't have good End-of-Grade testing score but Bessmer City Middle School students are trying their best to show their knowledge, Teacher and Staff members care about their students they ask them if there day has been okay. In Bessemer City Middle School there haven't been much bullying activity. Bessemer City Middle School is a great place to learn and have fun ... I'm very happy to be a student at "BCMS" because is a peaceful place. Close Quote

Schools Near Bessemer City Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)				EOG Reading (2025)				EOG Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bessemer City Middle	Public	6-8	525 Ed Wilson Road	Bessemer City	28016	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9602	497	29	17.1	99.4%	205 (41.2%)	136 (27.4%)	118 (23.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.0%)	19.6	641^st of 773 public middle schools	17.1%		28.2	579^th of 793 public middle schools	27.0%	62		27.0	36.8	40.7		33.3	37.4	37.7		41.4	$9,249	$1,434	$7,815
Kings Mountain Middle	Public	7-8	1000 Phifer Road	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 476-8340	631	37	16.9	99.5%	348 (55.2%)	162 (25.7%)	58 (9.2%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (8.9%)	54.9	329^th of 773 public middle schools	57.4%		51.1	383^rd of 793 public middle schools	51.7%	54			53.6	47.3			57.3	61.9		52.1	$8,838	$691	$8,147
Kings Mountain Intermediate	Public	5-6	227 Kings Mountain Boulevard	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8366	601	32	19.0	99.3%	352 (58.6%)	144 (24.0%)	56 (9.3%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	40 (6.7%)								(n/a)	60.0	66.9			52.7	51.9			60.7		$8,233	$1,444	$6,788
Southwest Middle	Public	6-8	1 Roadrunner Drive	Gastonia	28052	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 866-6290	832	54	15.3	99.6%	187 (22.5%)	280 (33.7%)	302 (36.3%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (6.9%)	13.6	696^th of 773 public middle schools	10.0%		17.3	685^th of 793 public middle schools	13.6%	11		31.3	30.4	32.4		25.9	27.3	38.8		34.8	$8,802	$1,244	$7,559
York Chester Middle	Public	6-8	601 S Clay Street	Gastonia	28052	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9609	398	25	15.9	99.2%	72 (18.1%)	188 (47.2%)	121 (30.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.3%)	25.9	582^nd of 773 public middle schools	24.7%		25.2	617^th of 793 public middle schools	22.2%	35		37.3	40.7	49.0		29.9	31.9	44.2		45.2	$12,146	$3,225	$8,921
W C Friday Middle School	Public	6-8	1221 Ratchford Drive	Dallas	28034	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 922-5297	618	34	18.0	99.5%	292 (47.2%)	147 (23.8%)	120 (19.4%)	7 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	50 (8.1%)	26.2	579^th of 773 public middle schools	25.1%		34.5	537^th of 793 public middle schools	32.3%	42		50.7	36.0	28.3		44.7	42.5	40.6		35.8	$8,144	$730	$7,414
John Chavis Middle School	Public	6-8	103 South Chavis Drive	Cherryville	28021	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 836-9606	412	27	14.9	99.3%	296 (71.8%)	38 (9.2%)	56 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.3%)	45.9	427^th of 773 public middle schools	44.8%		52.5	366^th of 793 public middle schools	53.8%	61		45.5	46.3	49.3		40.2	45.6	58.7		68.8	$9,634	$956	$8,678
W P Grier Middle School	Public	6-8	1622 E Garrison Boulevard	Gastonia	28054	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9604	659	42	15.7	99.5%	63 (9.6%)	348 (52.8%)	192 (29.1%)	9 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	45 (6.8%)	10.3	717^th of 773 public middle schools	7.2%		12.4	720^th of 793 public middle schools	9.2%	3		25.1	23.7	30.0		25.1	30.7	29.8		36.9	$8,330	$1,260	$7,071
Holbrook Middle	Public	6-8	418 S Church Street	Lowell	28098	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 836-9607	712	53	13.5	97.8%	242 (34.0%)	217 (30.5%)	197 (27.7%)	9 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (6.5%)	23.2	605^th of 773 public middle schools	21.7%		26.6	597^th of 793 public middle schools	24.7%	8		37.3	36.6	27.1		41.0	38.1	45.6		45.6	$7,945	$752	$7,193
Cramerton Middle	Public	6-8	601 Cramer Mountain Road	Cramerton	28032	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 836-9603	959	51	18.8	43.2%	587 (61.2%)	154 (16.1%)	117 (12.2%)	44 (4.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (5.5%)	88.9	61^st of 773 public middle schools	92.1%		91.4	54^th of 793 public middle schools	93.2%	7		77.9	76.4	76.8		67.6	69.8	77.5		82.9	$7,892	$734	$7,158

Frequently Asked Questions about Bessemer City Middle

What is the racial makeup of Bessemer City Middle?

Students at Bessemer City Middle are 41% White, 27% African American, 24% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races.

Is Bessemer City Middle a good school?

Bessemer City Middle ranks in the bottom 17.1% of North Carolina middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Bessemer City Middle attend?

Students who attend Bessemer City Middle usually go on to attend Bessemer City High

How many students attend Bessemer City Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 497 students attended Bessemer City Middle.

What district is Bessemer City Middle in?

Gaston County Schools

Rate Bessemer City Middle!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

NCNorth Carolina Middle School Rankings

NCNorth Carolina District Rankings

Schools in Bessemer City, NC

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Bessemer City Middle!

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

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.