The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Grant County Middle School
Grant County Middle School sits in Dry Ridge, a small city in northern Kentucky where Main Street (US Route 25) runs through the center and Interstate 75 provides regional highway access. The community has a mixed residential and commercial character, with employers in industrial, healthcare, and professional office fields. The city provides full municipal services including police, fire, paramedic, water, sewer, and recreation. Population growth has been modest over the past several years, and the housing market shows home values that are less expensive than the national typical figure, though the data for local rents was not available for comparison.
The school serves grades six through eight and is a regular public school within the Grant County district. It is not a charter or magnet school. The enrollment is sizable for a middle school, drawing from across the county. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller but present Hispanic population, and very small shares of students who are Black, Asian, or of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that many families in the community face economic challenges. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported.
On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, the school's proficiency rates in English language arts show that in each tested grade, roughly two out of every five students scored at Levels 3 or 4, considered proficient or above. Math proficiency rates are lower: in sixth grade about three out of ten students met the proficient mark, in seventh grade slightly more than a third did, and in eighth grade slightly more than two out of five did. Science results for seventh graders are lower, with about one in five students reaching proficiency. In eighth grade social studies, roughly three out of ten students were proficient. When combined across all subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index sits higher than the median among the two districts in Grant County. That is a positive relative position, though it reflects a comparison to only one other district in the county.
A parent may want to look into these results further with the school. The proficiency rates in math and especially science trail the typical figures for middle schools across the state, and the share of students meeting the bar in English language arts, while stronger, still leaves room for growth. A family weighing this school should understand that most students are not currently scoring at the proficient level on the state assessments, and the trajectory for a given child will depend heavily on the specific classroom and support they receive.
No data was available on chronic absenteeism, staff-to-student ratios, discipline rates, or course access offerings, so it is not possible to speak to the school's climate, staffing, or breadth of electives from this information. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
A notable structural change is coming. The district approved moving sixth grade to Grant County Middle School beginning in the 2025-2026 school year to address overcrowding at elementary schools. This will reconfigure the grade band and affect how many students the school serves, which parents of current and incoming elementary students should factor into their planning. Separately, the district launched a new career academy in the 2024-2025 school year for high school students, offering pathways in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and information technology with industry certifications and college credit, though that program is not directly available at the middle school level.
For a family considering this school, the academic profile is one where a minority of students meet state proficiency benchmarks, with English language arts being the relative strength and science the weakest area. The school sits in a small, auto-oriented town with modest growth and lower home costs than the national average. The upcoming reconfiguration will change the school's grade structure and likely its enrollment size.
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