A a Kingston Middle School, Potsdam NY

Original Research by School Decision on A a Kingston Middle School

A A Kingston Middle School serves grades five through eight in Potsdam, a small North Country college village built around two universities and a historic downtown along the Raquette River. The school draws from a community where higher education, health care, and dairy farming are the primary economic engines, and where a state-funded downtown revitalization initiative is reshaping residential and civic space.

The school's academic performance presents a mixed picture. In English language arts, results show strength in the upper grades. Grade eight students posted proficiency above the midpoint, while grades six and seven each sat near mid-range. Grade five ELA proficiency was solid. Math performance is more uneven. Grade five math proficiency sits in the mid-range, but grade six and grade eight proficiency both fall below mid-range, with grade eight showing particularly low performance. Grade seven math proficiency is closer to the middle. Science results for the grades tested (five and eight) hover around mid-range. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint when compared to other districts in St. Lawrence County, though the range across grade levels and subjects suggests uneven preparation as students move through the middle grades.

A note on the data: state testing in grades three and four is conducted, but Kingston Middle School does not serve those grades, so no results appear for them. Social studies data exists but only from 2009-10, so it does not reflect current performance.

The student body is small for its grade band, with enrollment distributed across the four grade levels. The vast majority of students are white. A modest share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report counts for students with individualized education plans or English learners, so those special populations' sizes and needs remain unknown from this data.

Potsdam's recent development affects the school's context. A major town property revaluation completed in early 2025 raised assessed values substantially, meaning school tax bills have climbed for many families—a real cost-of-living factor for households considering or already in the district. On the facility side, voters approved two capital projects: a major modernization in 2021 (funded tax-neutrally) that renovated the middle school building, replaced heating systems, and upgraded technology and security, and a smaller follow-on project approved in December 2024 focused on art room renovation and middle school restrooms, also without tax impact. These investments mean the school operates in a newer, substantially refreshed physical plant.

The district has also expanded student support, adding an elementary counseling position and special education services in the 2024-25 budget, noting that enrollment growth in special populations has driven those additions. For families with younger children or students with disabilities, this expansion signals growing capacity to support those needs.

A parent may want to look into further with the school: the degree of support available in the lower grade levels at Kingston, given that sixth and eighth grade math proficiency fall short, and whether the school has structures in place to address the grade-level variation visible in the assessment data. The missing data on special populations—their counts and what services are available—is worth clarifying if those categories matter to your family.

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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	34	100.0%
Science	32	100.0%

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 73% · ▼ 73 pts below district

▼ 59 pts below state median · ▼ 59 pts below county median

Grade 551%

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

even with state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 77% · ▼ 77 pts below district

▼ 52 pts below state median · ▼ 48 pts below county median

Grade 558%

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

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

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 57%

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

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 60%

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

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

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

Science

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 57%

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

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 56% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 593%

School 93% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 886%

School 86% · district not reported

▲ 7 pts above state median

This schoolPOTSDAM 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-income44%Higher-income66%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income69%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income71%33 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income45%Higher-income72%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income61%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income10%Higher-income56%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income56%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income35%4 pp gap