Heath Middle School, West Paducah KY

Original Research by School Decision on Heath Middle School

Heath Middle School serves grades six through eight in the unincorporated community of West Paducah, part of the McCracken County public school system. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and the available data does not indicate Title I status. Enrollment is moderate for a middle school, drawing from the surrounding suburban area. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a community with a mix of income levels.

Academically, the school shows a pattern of stronger literacy in the earlier middle grades and a noticeable dip by eighth grade that parents may want to explore further with the school. On the state’s summative assessments, sixth graders posted solid reading proficiency, with seventh graders also performing well. In math, seventh graders had the highest proficiency among the three grades, while sixth and eighth graders scored lower. Eighth-grade reading proficiency matched the eighth-grade math result, well below the earlier grades. Science, tested in seventh grade, and social studies, tested in eighth grade, both showed proficiency rates that were lower than the school’s own reading and math highs. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among the two school districts in McCracken County, a comparison that by nature includes only a small set of peers.

The student body is predominantly white, with small but present shares of students who identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or of two or more races. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available records. As a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report; that metric applies only to high schools.

West Paducah is not an incorporated town with its own downtown. It developed as a residential suburb of Paducah, offering quieter, car-dependent streets of single-family homes branching off the busy commercial corridor of US Highway 62. Families rely on Paducah for many civic services, including a public library and the large Noble Park. Closer to the school, the McCracken County Sportsplex provides fields and walking paths for recreation and tournaments. Major nearby employers include the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site, a National Weather Service forecast office, and the U.S. Postal Service. The area’s housing market is modest in cost compared with national benchmarks, and the mix of ownership and rental options keeps it accessible to many families.

The district itself, McCracken County Public Schools, has no recent major changes publicly reported that would affect a parent’s decision. Heath Middle School sits on its own campus, part of a cluster of Heath-branded schools that includes the elementary and high school. A parent considering this school will want to look into the eighth-grade performance drop, inquire about support for students who struggle in science and social studies, and understand the school’s approach to the transition from middle to high school. The community provides a straightforward suburban environment with convenient access to a small city’s amenities, and the school’s academic profile on the whole shows areas of strength in reading that families may find reassuring.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 51% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 55% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 57% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 767%

School 67% · District 63% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 56% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Science

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 40% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 54% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

This schoolMcCracken 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-income65%Higher-income79%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income56%Higher-income77%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income59%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income63%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income76%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income67%36 pp gap