Norton Middle School

Norton Middle School is a grades 7–8 school at 215 Norton Rd in the 43228 ZIP code area of Columbus, OH, serving 583 students in the South-Western City district. It is the smallest of the district’s three 7–8 middle schools, and the district itself ranks at 508th of 773 Ohio districts—mid-to-lower tier.

On state tests, the school performs below its own district average across every general subject. In 2025–26, proficiency averaged about 32% across five general tests, compared with roughly 50% districtwide and 57% statewide. Seventh-grade math is the sharpest weakness: 18.4% proficient versus 32.1% in the district and 48.6% statewide; eighth-grade science is 34.3% versus 56.7% in the district. The school’s overall rank has slid from the 32nd percentile in 2015–16 to 21st percentile (1 star) in 2025–26—its lowest showing in the decade shown. Enrollment is 583, 80.6% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, and the student–teacher ratio has improved from 18.5 to 14.8. Reported per-pupil spending is $6,563 (2018–19).

Compared with nearby same-district 7–8 schools, Beulah Park Middle School (42nd percentile, 2 stars) and Pleasant View Middle School (44th percentile, 2 stars) outperform the school by 15–25 points on every comparable general test. Pleasant View Middle School is especially instructive: it has similar per-pupil spending and a similar poverty rate, yet materially better outcomes. One bright spot is Algebra I: the school’s End-of-Course proficiency is 100%, versus 63.1% district and 61.6% state, though this likely reflects a small accelerated cohort. Chronic absenteeism was 40.4% in 2025–26—above the district’s 32.1% but below peers in the Columbus City Schools District (56.3–72.3%) and far above Larson Middle School at 5.1%. No student group ranks above the 50th percentile statewide, and gifted-student effectiveness fell sharply. The key question is why the school’s grade-level results lag while its top-track Algebra I results shine.