Summary:
ZIP code 44053 has two schools serving grades K–8: Durling Middle School, a grades 5–8 school in Clearview Local, and Lorain Preparatory Academy, a K–8 school in the Lorain Preparatory Academy district. Together they enroll 864 students, and no high school or alternative school appears in this extract.
Durling Middle School is the relatively stronger school overall. Its standout result is Algebra I proficiency at 80% in both 2025–2026 and 2024–2025, above the state (61.6% and 59.4%) and far above the district (37.2% and 31.7%). It also has lower chronic absenteeism than Lorain Preparatory Academy, 41.0% vs 52.3%, and a better 2025–2026 school rank percentile, 24th vs 16th. Still, Durling Middle School’s regular grades 5–8 math average is only 17.1% vs a 54.0% state average, with Math 8 at 9.9%. Lorain Preparatory Academy was below state in all 14 reported 2025–2026 tests, and its science grades 5 and 8 averaged 18.4% vs 62.0% for the state. Its bright spots are mostly earlier grades from 2024–2025, such as Math 3 and ELA 3 at 61.4%.
Enrollment is similar—448 at Durling Middle School and 416 at Lorain Preparatory Academy—but outcomes differ. Durling Middle School’s district rank is 634/773, 18th percentile, 1 star; Lorain Preparatory Academy’s is 716/773, 7th percentile, 0 stars. Student-teacher ratios are 17.9 vs 18.9, and available 2018–2019 per-student spending is $7,386 vs $7,689, though those spending figures are old and do not explain outcomes simply. Durling Middle School’s 2025–2026 unweighted proficiency average is 39.1% vs 28.7% for Lorain Preparatory Academy, with state averages of 59.0% and 60.1%. Durling Middle School’s Algebra I score is a clear bright spot, but it is an anomaly worth cautious interpretation because regular math scores remain very low.
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