Letchworth Middle School, Gainesville NY

Original Research by School Decision on Letchworth Middle School

Letchworth Middle School serves grades five through eight in Gainesville, a rural town in eastern Wyoming County in western New York. The school enrolls a student body of modest size spread across four grade levels, with a student population that is predominantly white and includes a substantial share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding agricultural region.

Academically, the school's state assessment results show a mixed picture that varies notably by grade and subject. In mathematics, proficiency grows significantly from the elementary grades through the upper middle years: fifth-grade math proficiency stands well below midpoint, while sixth grade shows a modest improvement, and both seventh and eighth grades reach the low-to-mid range. English language arts proficiency is more consistent across grades but lags mathematics in the upper grades; fifth-grade ELA performs better than fifth-grade math, while sixth through eighth grades cluster in the low-to-mid range. Science proficiency at fifth and eighth grades sits near the midpoint across both tested grades. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the five districts in Wyoming County, a meaningful strength relative to peers in the immediate region, though the measure reflects the specific mix of tested subjects and grades rather than a comprehensive picture.

A notable soft spot appears in eighth-grade participation rates, where both math and science testing saw lower participation than in earlier grades, a pattern worth discussing directly with the school. Likewise, sixth-grade math testing in the year measured drew only modest participation; understanding the reasons behind these lower rates can help parents assess whether underlying factors affect instruction or whether they reflect specific circumstances in a particular cohort.

The district completed a significant infrastructure investment during the 2023-2024 school year, opening a new STEAM Innovation Center on campus with dedicated lab and shop space for hands-on work in coding, game design, welding, woodworking, architectural drawing, graphic arts, and robotics. This is a tangible addition to course offerings that expands access to technical and design-based pathways for middle school students who show interest in those areas. The district has also built a capital reserve fund approved by voters, signaling to prospective families that future facility needs can be addressed without sharp tax-levy spikes.

Gainesville itself is a quiet rural community centered on small villages, with most residents owning their homes and the area predominantly agricultural and low-density. Home values here run below state averages, making it more affordable than much of New York, and employment is anchored in agriculture, salt mining at the nearby Morton Salt operation in Silver Springs, and tourism tied to Letchworth State Park. The setting is car-dependent; the school sits on its own road-frontage campus several miles from village centers, and the nearest mid-sized cities with airports are roughly an hour away.

For a family considering Letchworth Middle School, the picture is of a rural, affordable community with a school that shows stronger performance relative to county peers and recent facility investment in career and technical pathways, but with state test proficiency in the lower to mid range overall, particularly in elementary grades and some ninth-grade participation patterns that a parent may want to look into further with the school.

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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	15	100.0%
Science	14	93.0%

Math

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 61% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 550%

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

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 55% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 50% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 593%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 889%

School 89% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median

This schoolLETCHWORTH 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-income42%Higher-income57%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income53%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income56%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income58%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income35%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income39%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income77%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income60%7 pp gap