Northport Middle School, Northport NY

Original Research by School Decision on Northport Middle School

Northport Middle School serves students in grades five through eight and anchors the academic pathway in one of Long Island's most distinctive small communities. The school is part of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District, which underwent a significant reorganization in the 2021-22 school year, shifting fifth graders from elementary schools into the two middle buildings. This change means that Northport Middle School now houses a wider age span, starting with younger fifth graders alongside older eighth graders, a structural fact worth understanding as you think about your child's placement and peer environment.

Academically, the school shows a mixed profile across tested subjects. In mathematics, sixth-grade students perform strongest, with more than a majority reaching proficiency. Fifth-grade math and seventh-grade math show middle-range performance, while eighth-grade math results fall below half proficiency. English language arts presents a more consistent picture, with fifth and sixth graders showing roughly similar proficiency near or just above the midpoint, seventh graders slightly below that line, and eighth graders notably stronger. Science testing reveals a narrower picture: fifth graders reach proficiency at about half, but eighth-grade science results are quite limited because very few eighth graders participated in the assessment. State test data for sixth and seventh grade in science was not available. The school's overall proficiency index positions it above the midpoint among the districts in Suffolk County, grounding it in a competitive regional context.

The enrollment is roughly balanced across the four grade levels, with slightly more eighth graders than younger students, totaling more than seven hundred students. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and very small numbers of Asian, Black, and other students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a community of generally stable means, though the data field for English learners and students with IEPs was not available. The lack of those figures leaves a gap in understanding student support needs; a parent may want to ask the school directly about special services and language support as part of your inquiry.

Northport itself is a waterfront village with a distinct identity on Long Island's North Shore. It centers on a Victorian-era Main Street running down to the harbor, with boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and civic gathering spaces along the water. The community is small and tight-knit, with families often rooted for generations. Housing values have stayed elevated and relatively stable, reflecting the area's desirability and built-out character; new development tends to be incremental rather than transformative, showing up as scattered homes rather than new housing tracts. This is a place where most families own homes, and the property tax picture is shaped by a long-standing tax settlement involving the large Northport Power Station nearby, which will continue to phase out gradually through 2026-27, gradually shifting more tax burden onto homeowners. New York State has also established a reserve fund mechanism to help buffer the district when that glide path ends, an effort to stabilize school budgets and tax rates going forward.

The district consolidated its elementary footprint several years ago by closing two buildings and reorganizing into a K-4, 5-8, 9-12 structure. This made Northport Middle School the entry point to the larger-building experience for fifth graders. The school resides on Middleville Road in the village center, near the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The LIRR Northport station, though bearing the Northport name, actually sits in nearby East Northport and provides county and local bus connections, so public transit exists but is not extensive.

Northport Middle School fits families seeking a small-town, waterfront community setting with solid regional academic standing and a clear peer environment rooted in a stable, residential neighborhood. It is not a specialized or magnet program; it serves the general student population of the reorganized middle grades. The school's test results show genuine strength in some areas and softer results in others, a pattern worth examining grade by grade and subject by subject as you consider fit. Parents may want to understand more about the transition supports for fifth graders moving in from elementary school, especially given the broader shift the district made three years ago, and to ask about programming and supports for the full range of learners across all grade levels.

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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
Science	84	100.0%
Math	80	100.0%

Math

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 67% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 75% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 67% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 56% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 54% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 54% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 70% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 18% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 893%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolNORTHPORT-EAST NORTHPORT UNION FREE 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-income57%Higher-income57%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income59%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income58%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income54%Higher-income65%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income64%Higher-income81%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income76%42 pp gap