The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Fillmore Central Middle School
Fillmore Central Middle School serves grades five through eight as part of the Fillmore Central Public Schools district, and it operates as a regular public school in the small rural village of Fairmont, Nebraska. Fairmont itself is a quiet Plains village with a population that has seen modest long-term decline, though it remains a place where residents describe being able to let children walk to school or the store. The village offers some rental apartments and building sites, but employment options are limited locally; many residents commute to larger towns such as Geneva, York, and Crete. A Flint Hills Resources ethanol plant is a visible industrial presence near town, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad runs a main line through Fairmont. The district is a consolidated one, meaning school facilities are shared with the nearby town of Exeter rather than all located within Fairmont proper.
The student body at this middle school is small. It is composed predominantly of white students, with a much smaller share of Hispanic students, and small numbers of students who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, or of two or more races. No students identified as Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The school reports that a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show a picture that varies considerably by grade level and subject, and a parent should note that several grade-level results were reported as zero percent proficient, which may reflect very small cohort sizes and could be a data artifact rather than a true representation of student performance. For instance, math proficiency was reported at zero for grades five, six, and seven, but at a robust rate for grade eight. In English language arts, results ranged from roughly half of students proficient in grade five to below half in grade six, followed by a zero for grade seven, and then a rate above the midpoint for grade eight. In science, grade five showed a high rate of proficiency, while grade eight was again reported at zero. Because these zeros do not appear to represent the full range of achievement across all four tested grades, a parent should look into this further with the school directly to understand what is happening with testing and performance in the upper elementary and early middle school years. The overall proficiency index, which averages across all tested grades and subjects, placed the school in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts in Fillmore County. That comparison set is small, with only three districts in the county, so the difference between the bottom and the top may not be large.
Other typical school data points were not available. The school operates on a regular calendar and is not a charter or magnet school. Data on discipline, staffing, attendance, and special education or English learner populations was missing from the available information. The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as property-tax shifts, referenda, or curriculum overhauls that would be of lasting interest to a parent.
For a family considering this school, the central picture is of a small, rural middle school serving a village and surrounding area where daily life is quiet and oriented around small-town norms. The academic data is uneven and marked by some puzzling zeros, so direct conversations with the school about how they assess and support students across grades would be the next logical step. The housing market in Fairmont is relatively affordable, and the community is safe by its own description, making it a potential fit for families who value a close-knit setting and are comfortable with consolidated school arrangements and limited local employment.
See more original research from School Decision →