Glens Falls Middle School, Glens Falls NY

Original Research by School Decision on Glens Falls Middle School

Glens Falls Middle School is a mid-sized regular public school in a small upstate city anchored by health care and education. It serves grades five through eight across a diverse peer group: nearly all students are white, but about half qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, signaling a broadly working-class to middle-class population. The school sits on a clustered academic campus with the high school on Quade Street, a short distance from downtown Glens Falls, which is itself in active revitalization with new housing, restaurants, and public spaces emerging along South and Elm Streets.

The school benefited from a capital project voters approved in late 2021, completed with no tax levy increase. Renovations included conversion of a large group instruction room into standard classrooms, refurbished science spaces, and a fitness area, improvements that families moving to the district would experience as a modern facility.

State test results from the most recent year show mixed performance across subjects. In math, proficiency ranges from about one-half in grade five to roughly two-thirds in grade seven, with grade eight dipping back to about one-half. English language arts follows a similar pattern: grade five and grade eight both hover near one-half proficiency, grade six is somewhat stronger, and grade seven climbs to roughly three-fifths. Science is more uneven: grade five proficiency is noticeably lower, around two-fifths, while grade eight proficiency is substantially higher at roughly two-thirds, though only a smaller share of eighth graders took that assessment. When proficiency rates are averaged across subjects and grades, the school sits above the midpoint among the nine districts in Warren County, its home county. This positioning suggests competent instruction but not exceptional performance; families focused on high testing outcomes may find the numbers sobering, particularly in grade five, while families primarily seeking a functional, community-embedded school may view the results as acceptable for the population served.

One soft spot warrants attention: eighth-grade science testing saw only a roughly one-half participation rate, well below other grades. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether eighth-grade science is optional, how many students were absent or exempted, and whether that affects college preparation in the grade band.

Data on special education rates, English learner populations, chronic absenteeism, and discipline were not available in the public record. The school's website presence was also not found, so detailed information on course offerings, clubs, or specific academic pathways could not be verified from primary sources.

The surrounding city offers walkable downtown amenities including parks, a library, and cultural events, along with fixed-route transit to Saratoga Springs and other regional centers. Housing in the Glens Falls zip code sits below the state median but costs and rents have ticked upward in recent years. Property owners should be aware that the city has committed to four-year reassessment cycles; the next one is underway through 2026, meaning individual school tax bills can shift even when the district budget does not change.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Math	51	100.0%
Science	38	97.0%

Math

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

even with state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 63% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 853%

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

▲ 16 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 52%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 57% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 49% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 63% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 881%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median

This schoolGLENS FALLS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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 5Lower-income35%Higher-income56%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income62%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income71%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income63%35 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income68%42 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income51%Higher-income75%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income79%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income71%42 pp gap