Lansing Middle School, Lansing NY

Original Research by School Decision on Lansing Middle School

Lansing Middle School serves grades five through eight in a rural fringe setting about eight to ten miles from downtown Ithaca, in the town and village of Lansing. The enrollment is small, around three hundred and forty students across four grade levels, with most students from the surrounding agricultural and residential communities. The school itself sits on Ludlowville Road in the southern part of town, well removed from the village's commercial strips and highway retail corridors.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows mixed performance across the school's grade bands. In mathematics, proficiency climbs steadily from fifth grade through eighth grade, ending strongest with a solid result by the eighth-grade cohort. English language arts performance is more uneven: sixth grade shows strong proficiency, but seventh grade dips noticeably before recovery in eighth grade. Science results follow a distinct pattern, with fifth graders at roughly the midpoint of proficiency and eighth graders performing substantially higher. The strongest single result across the school is in eighth-grade science. Participation rates vary notably by grade level, with notably lower participation in eighth grade for both math and science, which a parent may want to look into further with the school to understand whether those results reflect the full cohort or a subset.

The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts across Tompkins County, a meaningful strength in this regional context. Within the county peer set, the school's proficiency profile is notably higher than the median, driven especially by solid eighth-grade performance and respectable results across English language arts at most grade levels.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share drawn from families with some economic need. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school has not reported special education or English learner data.

Lansing's housing market is in an active development phase, with new apartment complexes, affordable housing projects, and residential subdivisions underway along the Warren Road and Triphammer Road corridors. Home values and rental costs are below the New York State benchmark, though still at a level that requires meaningful household income. Lansing's economic base includes agriculture, salt mining, industrial plants, and retail employment concentrated in the shopping centers near the village, as well as proximity to Cornell University and other Ithaca institutions.

The district passed a multi-phase capital improvement project called BOBCAT in January 2023 by a single vote, funding HVAC upgrades, roof work, gym floor repairs, and other facility work at all three schools. That work has been underway and represents a visible commitment to school infrastructure. However, for the 2026-27 school year, the district adopted a lean budget that cuts several staff positions and reduces programming, including elimination of swimming instruction and reduced professional development. Field trips are expected to be fewer. The budget stays within the state tax cap but reflects rising labor and benefit costs against strained state funding. A family considering this district should factor in the program reductions happening at this moment alongside the longer-term facility improvements.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

1 course 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	22	100.0%

Math

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 33 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 65%

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

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 19 pts above state median

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 879%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 46 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

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

Grade 874%

School 74% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolLANSING 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 5Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income70%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income70%46 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income74%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income49%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income68%47 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income70%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income77%33 pp gap