Ockerman Middle School, Florence KY

Original Research by School Decision on Ockerman Middle School

Ockerman Middle School is a regular public school in Florence, Kentucky, serving sixth through eighth grade as part of the Boone County School District. The school is located on U.S. 42 in a mixed-use suburb of Cincinnati that has seen rapid population growth. Florence is a car-dependent community developed along highway corridors, with major employers including St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Boone County Schools, and a range of manufacturing and distribution companies. The city lacks a traditional walkable downtown, and its commercial activity is concentrated around the Florence Mall, Turfway Park horse racing track, and Thomas More Stadium. Housing values in the zip code around the school are above the state benchmark, while rents are also elevated, and the area saw a modest decline in home values year-over-year, though the local market remains relatively expensive for the region.

The school’s enrollment is spread fairly evenly across the three middle school grades. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic and Black students making up the next largest groups, followed by smaller Asian and multiracial populations. More than two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the profile.

On state assessments, Ockerman’s proficiency rates show a clear pattern. In English language arts, roughly half of sixth and seventh graders scored at or above the proficient level, while eighth graders performed lower. In mathematics, about two-fifths of sixth and seventh graders were proficient, but only about three in ten eighth graders reached that threshold. Science, tested only in seventh grade, and social studies, tested only in eighth grade, both had proficiency rates around three in ten. When compared with other districts in Boone County, Ockerman’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quartile. This comparison set is narrow; there are only two districts in the county, so the bottom quartile here reflects the lower end of a two-district field. A parent may want to ask the school about trends and support for eighth grade performance in particular, as that year shows a noticeable drop in both math and reading relative to the earlier grades.

The school offers no data on program offerings, course access, or staffing, so a full picture of academic pathways and extracurricular options is not available from this profile. The district, Boone County Schools, has publicly reported that it opened a new elementary school to relieve overcrowding from residential growth and has adopted a strategic plan emphasizing career pathways and expanded career and technical education at the high school level. These changes may eventually affect the middle school experience through feeder patterns and a stronger pipeline into CTE programs, but the details at Ockerman itself are not documented here.

Discipline, attendance, and chronic absenteeism data were also absent, as was any civil rights or outcomes data. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported. For a family evaluating Ockerman, the available evidence points to a middle school where math and reading proficiency are roughly in line with state averages in sixth and seventh grades but soften in eighth grade, and where science and social studies results are weaker. The community context is that of a growing, highway-oriented suburb with a strong economic base, a moderate-cost housing market relative to the broader Cincinnati region, and a district that is investing in capacity and career programming.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 51% · ▼ 9 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 55% · ▼ 12 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 51% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 62% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 58% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 47% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median

Social studies

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 42% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

This schoolBoone County, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income66%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income48%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income55%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income53%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income42%17 pp gap