North Middle School, Radcliff KY

Original Research by School Decision on North Middle School

North Middle School is a regular public school in Radcliff, Kentucky, serving grades six through eight as part of Hardin County Schools. It has a sizable enrollment for a middle school, and its student body is diverse: the largest groups are white students, followed by Black or African American students, then students of two or more races, and Hispanic students, with smaller numbers of Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available.

On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades fall below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Hardin County. In reading and writing (English language arts), the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged roughly in the low to mid-forties for sixth grade and was lower for seventh and eighth grades, around the high twenties and mid-thirties respectively. In math, proficiency rates were lower across all three grades, with figures in the teens and twenties. In social studies, tested only in eighth grade, about a quarter of students reached proficiency. Science results for seventh grade were suppressed for privacy reasons, so no rate is reported there. A parent may want to discuss these numbers directly with the school to understand the instructional context and any support programs in place. There are no multi-year trend data available, so it is not possible to see whether performance has been improving or declining over time.

Radcliff sits directly next to Fort Knox, and the military base shapes the economy and population heavily. The city has a suburban, auto-oriented layout with commercial strips and residential neighborhoods; it lacks a traditional walkable downtown. Housing values in the broader area are moderate, and rents appear to be below the national pattern, making the area relatively affordable. The city’s population grew quickly in past decades driven by transient military families, but recent Census estimates show a plateau and slight decline. The district itself reported no recent major changes or initiatives, so the educational environment appears stable without notable new programs or restructuring.

The school’s website or directory did not list specific program offerings such as magnet pathways, career and technical education courses, or academic tracks. A family looking for a middle school with clear accelerated or specialized programs will not find that information here. The school operates as a standard public middle school.

North Middle School is best understood as a community school serving a military-adjacent, economically diverse town. Its academic results on state tests are lower than what the small set of county peers shows, and a parent may want to investigate what academic supports are in place for students who are behind grade level. The school’s peer environment reflects the town’s diversity, and the housing market in Radcliff is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks. For a family whose primary consideration is a middle school embedded in a stable, residential, military-connected community, this school fits that description. For a family seeking higher measured academic performance or a wide array of program options, the data available suggests that is not the profile here.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 34% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 42% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 37% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 50% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 50% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 35% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

This schoolHardin 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-income40%Higher-income48%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income36%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income47%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income28%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income16%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income34%13 pp gap