Morton Magnet Middle School, Omaha NE

Original Research by School Decision on Morton Magnet Middle School

Morton Magnet Middle School serves students in sixth through eighth grade in Omaha, Nebraska. Despite the word “Magnet” in its name, the state classifies Morton as a regular public school; its magnet status is not officially designated in the data provided. It is part of Omaha Public Schools, the state’s largest district.

The school enrolls a sizable student body for a middle school. The student population is quite diverse: a large share of students are Black, with substantial numbers of White and Asian students, a smaller but notable share of Hispanic students, and a modest portion of students who identify as two or more races. Information on free and reduced-price meal eligibility, special education, and English learner status was not available in the data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures.

Morton’s state assessment results for the most recent year show that proficiency rates are low across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, roughly a quarter of students in each grade scored proficient or better. Math proficiency is similarly low, with one grade reporting a very small portion of students meeting the bar and the other two grades showing around a quarter proficient. Science, tested only in eighth grade, had a somewhat higher proficiency rate, though still below a majority. The multi-year trend data does not offer a clear direction of change, as it covers only a single year for each subject.

When compared with the school districts in Douglas County, Morton’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This is a soft spot that families may want to explore further with the school, particularly given the limited data on student support programs and the absence of chronic absenteeism or discipline metrics in the available record.

Morton sits in Omaha, a large city with a strong corporate and cultural base. Omaha is home to several Fortune 500 headquarters and offers a range of civic institutions, from the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to the Old Market district. The surrounding housing market is moderate: typical home values and rents in the area are slightly below the state average, and the cost of living relative to income is manageable, though home values have seen modest growth over the past year.

Within Omaha Public Schools, a recent district-wide initiative called the Moonshot launched in 2024, committing to having all students reading on grade level by 2030 through a structured literacy curriculum. Because Morton is a middle school, this initiative may affect incoming sixth graders who were taught reading under the new approach in elementary school, but the shift is most directly relevant to families with younger children. No other recent parent-relevant changes were found in available district information.

Overall, Morton Magnet Middle School offers a diverse environment in a well-resourced urban city, but its academic performance on state assessments is low compared with other schools in the county. The lack of key data on student support services means families should actively seek information from the school about interventions, special programs, and how the school is working to raise achievement.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 24% · ▼ 24 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 36% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 42% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 51% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

This schoolOMAHA 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 7Lower-income25%Higher-income45%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income52%24 pp gap