The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 50% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Midway Middle
Midway Middle serves the middle grades in Dunn, a small city between Raleigh and Fayetteville along I-95, with an enrollment of about six hundred students across grades six through eight. The school's enrollment is almost entirely economically disadvantaged, and the student body is racially and ethnically diverse: roughly half white, a substantial portion Hispanic, and a meaningful share Black, with smaller numbers of other groups. The school's location on Roberts Grove Road sits apart from Dunn's walkable downtown but within a city that is slowly growing through new residential development and infrastructure investment, including a major rebuild of Dunn Elementary slated to open soon.
On state testing, Midway's results sit below the midpoint among the two other middle grades settings in Sampson County. In math, about three-fifths of students tested reached proficiency or above. In English language arts, the proficiency rate falls to just under half. Science proficiency, measured on a different assessment with revised standards this year, sits between the two—just above fifty-five percent. These results reflect a school where core academic performance is a genuine area of work. The school serves a student population with acute economic pressures: nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Without visibility into the school's English learner population, special education enrollment, or chronic absenteeism, it is harder to fully map the support systems in place, though a parent may want to look into these details directly with the school.
Dunn itself is a community in active transition. It was historically a logging and turpentine town and retains a small-town, walkable downtown anchored by the Stewart Theater, the Dunn Area History Museum, and local shops and restaurants. Beyond that core, the city is car-oriented, with commercial strip development along US corridors and new housing subdivisions rising west of downtown, including Dunhaven, near Betsey Johnson Hospital. The median home price runs below state and national medians, and monthly rent is modest by regional standards. Employers include Harnett County Schools itself, Godwin Manufacturing, ADUSA Distribution's Food Lion logistics hub, Rooms To Go's distribution center, and the hospital. The downtown has been revived through the Downtown Dunn Development Corporation, and the city is positioned to benefit from I-95 growth as Wake and Cumberland counties expand.
Sampson County Schools has recently launched a community schools model in four schools in the Lakewood district area (Roseboro, Salemburg, and surrounding schools), each now with a dedicated Family Resource Center and Community Schools Coordinator to connect families with educators and community support. That change does not affect Midway directly, but it signals a district-wide shift toward deeper family and community engagement. Property revaluation in 2024 reset the county tax rate and moved to a four-year reappraisal cycle going forward, an administrative change that will affect annual tax bills for families buying or owning homes in the area.
Midway Middle is a regular public middle school with no charter or magnet designation, serving its local attendance zone. For a family weighing this school, the key question is whether the academic climate, the economic pressures on the student body, and the support infrastructure align with their child's needs. The test results are plainly below target and worth discussing with school leadership. The community itself is growing and has real assets—parks, civic activity, new housing—and offers affordability. A parent considering this school should ask directly about English learner and special education services, attendance and discipline data, academic interventions for struggling students, and the school's plans to raise proficiency, especially in ELA.
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