Iroquois Middle School, Elma NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Iroquois Middle School

Iroquois Middle School serves grades six through eight in Elma, a low-density town in central Erie County about fifteen to twenty miles southeast of Buffalo. The school sits on the main district campus at Girdle Road and enrolls a student body that is predominantly white and fairly homogeneous in racial composition. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a mostly middle-income enrollment with some economic diversity.

The school's state assessment results reveal uneven academic preparation across grades and subjects. In sixth-grade math and English language arts, roughly forty-six to sixty-four percent of students score at proficient levels. Seventh grade holds similar proficiency in ELA at around forty-four percent, though math dips slightly to near fifty-eight percent. Eighth grade presents a marked change: proficiency in math drops sharply to around six percent, while ELA recovers to roughly forty-nine percent. Science proficiency in eighth grade sits at around forty-eight percent. The participation rate in eighth-grade math testing was notably lower than in other grades, which a parent may want to look into further with the school. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Erie County districts in terms of testing performance, but the eighth-grade math result stands out as a significant concern that deserves explanation.

The middle grades are a transition point in any district, and the dramatic eighth-grade math decline could reflect assessment timing, curriculum changes, or student cohort differences rather than teaching quality alone. Parents considering this school should ask the administration directly about what drives that result and what intervention or support the school offers students who fall below proficient on these tests.

Elma itself is a town of mixed rural and suburban character, with an agricultural heritage and more recent residential development. It functions primarily as a bedroom community for Buffalo workers. Housing in the area is relatively accessible compared to state and national benchmarks, with home values and rental costs reflecting a stable suburban market. The dominant local employer is Moog Inc., an aerospace and defense manufacturer, which anchors manufacturing employment in a region otherwise oriented toward services. Parks and library services provide the main public gathering spaces; daily life is car-dependent, with no traditional walkable downtown.

The district recently gained voter approval for a major capital project to modernize aging facilities at the high school and elementary schools, funded through state aid and reserves with no local tax increase. Work is set to begin in 2027. This reflects district commitment to building condition and infrastructure at a time when many communities face aging school plants.

For a family weighing Iroquois Middle School, the academic profile shows solid performance in sixth and seventh grades, particularly in math, but warrants clear conversation with the school about eighth-grade results and what support systems exist for students working below grade-level proficiency. The school draws from a stable, relatively homogeneous community with modest free-lunch qualification, suggesting a middle-class peer environment. The broader district's recent capital vote signals institutional health and parent confidence.

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	65	100.0%
Science	39	100.0%

Math

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 758%

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

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

even with state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 48% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 47% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 891%

School 91% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolIROQUOIS CENTRAL 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 6Lower-income35%Higher-income48%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income45%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income61%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income67%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income59%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income11%11 pp gap