Orchard Middle School

Orchard Middle School is a public school in Solon, Ohio (Cuyahoga County), serving grades 4–8 with 730 students as part of the Solon City district, which ranks #2 of 773 Ohio districts. For 2025–26, Orchard is ranked #1 of 1,046 Ohio middle schools — the top roughly 0.1% of the state — up from #4 of 1,048 in 2022–23.

The academics are the headline. Every reported proficiency figure at Orchard is above 92%, and results run 27 to 51 points above the state in each tested subject. Seventh-grade math has been perfect — 100% proficient — three years running (2023–24 through 2025–26). Chronic absenteeism, meanwhile, has fallen from 9.3% in 2021–22 to 4.1% in 2025–26, the lowest of any school in this comparison group and less than half the rate at Chagrin Falls Middle School (9.2%). Against its two nearest high-performing peers, Orchard leads: seventh-grade math is 100% here versus 82.7% at Chagrin Falls Middle and 70.1% at Ballard Brady Middle School, and fifth-grade English is 96.8% versus 95.6% at Chagrin Falls Intermediate Elementary School.

Worth knowing: about 18.5% of Orchard students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a higher share than at Ballard Brady Middle School (14.5%), yet Orchard still outperforms it. Orchard also spends less per student ($11,964, 2018–19 data) than Ballard Brady ($21,057) while teaching the largest classes in the group (student–teacher ratio 18.2). Two things to watch: sixth-grade math is the school's relatively lowest result, though it rose to 94.1% and remains far above the state; and the 100% Algebra I end-of-course scores reflect a small advanced cohort rather than the whole student body — nearby schools with much lower overall math scores post similar perfect numbers. One family note: within Solon City, seventh-graders at Orchard (100% math) and at Solon Middle School (85.4%) have noticeably different experiences.