Pound Middle School, Lincoln NE - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Pound Middle School

Pound Middle School sits in the south part of Lincoln, serving grades six through eight as part of Lincoln Public Schools, the largest district in Nebraska. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and the building draws from a residential area of the city.

Academically, the school posts results that place it lower than many of its peers. When measured against other middle schools within Lancaster County, Pound's overall proficiency across tested subjects lands in the bottom quartile. In the most recent testing year, math proficiency showed a clear split by grade: the seventh-grade cohort performed at a meaningfully higher level than the sixth- or eighth-grade cohorts. English language arts proficiency followed a different pattern, with eighth graders posting the strongest results and seventh graders the weakest. Science, tested only in eighth grade, produced the school's highest proficiency rate across any subject and grade, with a strong majority of students meeting the bar. Multi-year trends, where available, show that the school has been operating in a range that suggests a parent may want to look into whether the school's approach to instruction and support matches what their child needs.

The student body totals in the hundreds, spread fairly evenly across the three grades. The demographic composition is predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races, a smaller Hispanic population, and smaller still Black and Asian groups. Just under half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a substantial number of families of modest means. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported in the available records.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. Discipline and attendance data were also absent from the profiles reviewed.

Lincoln itself is a state capital and the anchor of its metro area, with a mix of government, education, and healthcare employment. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is woven into the city's fabric, and downtown is organized around the state capitol building and the historic Haymarket District. The city has been growing steadily, with an expanding startup scene and efforts to increase affordable housing. Lincoln Public Schools passed the largest bond issue in its history several years ago, funding two new high schools that opened in the early-mid 2020s and reshaping attendance boundaries across the district. The district has also shifted to a science-of-reading approach for elementary literacy instruction, a district-wide pedagogy change that families with younger children may want to understand as their child moves through the system.

For a family considering Pound, the picture is of a neighborhood middle school in a growing capital city, within a large district that has recently invested heavily in its high school infrastructure. The academic performance on state tests is below the median for the county, which may matter to families who prioritize strong test scores. The school serves a population with moderate economic diversity, and the surrounding city offers a stable government-and-university employment base. A parent should weigh the school's current proficiency levels against the district's broader investments and ask how the school is working to lift its outcomes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 766%

School 66% · District 55% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 66 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 58% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 57 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 58% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 58% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 62% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 66 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 75% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 73 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

This schoolLINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 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-income52%Higher-income76%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income79%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income56%Higher-income78%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income70%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income61%Higher-income84%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income71%25 pp gap