Browning Springs Middle School, Madisonville KY

Original Research by School Decision on Browning Springs Middle School

Browning Springs Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders in Madisonville, Kentucky, as part of the Hopkins County school district. The school sits on West Arch Street in a city that functions as the county seat and a regional commercial center for western Kentucky. Madisonville’s economy has moved away from coal mining and tobacco toward manufacturing and services, with major employers including a large hospital, GE Aviation, and Carhartt. The population has seen a slight decline in recent years. For a family moving to the area, housing costs in the school’s vicinity are below both the state and national benchmarks, and the local unemployment rate is close to the national average.

The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Black students and a modest share of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which means the school serves a population with significant economic need. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Enrollment spreads fairly evenly across the three middle grades.

On the Kentucky Summative Assessment, performance across subjects and grade levels falls into a range that is below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Hopkins County. In mathematics, proficiency rates are roughly in the same relatively modest band for all three grades. In English language arts, sixth graders show a slightly higher proficiency rate than seventh graders, with eighth graders landing in between. Science is tested only in seventh grade, and that rate is lower still. Social studies, tested in eighth grade, shows a higher proficiency rate than the school’s science results. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile among the county’s districts. A parent looking at these numbers should consider them carefully, as they indicate that a majority of students at Browning Springs are not meeting the state’s benchmark for proficiency in core subjects.

Because the school serves only middle grades, it does not have a graduation rate to report. The data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access, so a parent with specific questions about school climate or program offerings may want to follow up directly with the school. The district brief turned up no publicly reported information about recent consolidation, closure, or reorganization activity, which suggests that the district’s configuration has been stable in the near term.

For a family choosing a middle school in the Madisonville area, Browning Springs offers a setting where the student body reflects the local economic conditions, with many peers from lower-income households. Academic proficiency is an area of concern across nearly every tested subject and grade, and a parent who values strong test scores or a competitive academic environment should investigate the school’s instructional supports and any intervention programs available. The school sits in a community with below-average housing costs and a manufacturing-based economy, which may appeal to families seeking an affordable place to live. The gaps in available school-level data mean that a thorough look at the school’s offerings and environment will require a visit or a conversation with staff.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 42% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 46% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 54% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 44% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 43% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 26% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 42% · ▼ 4 pts below district

even with state median

This schoolHopkins 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-income35%Higher-income55%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income44%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income51%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income50%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income42%13 pp gap