The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Westgate Middle School
Westgate Middle School is a regular public school in East Liverpool, Ohio, serving grades five and six with a small enrollment. The school is part of the East Liverpool City School District, a district that sits in Columbiana County in the Ohio River valley. The county is a sprawling rural-industrial region, and East Liverpool itself is a small city defined by its historic pottery industry and recent downtown revitalization efforts.
Westgate's academic performance in the most recent state testing places it in the bottom quartile of performance among districts countywide. In English language arts, about four in ten students reached proficiency on Ohio's state tests. In math, the rate was lower, closer to one in three. Science performed relatively stronger, with about half of students meeting proficiency. No recent social studies data was available for the school. These results represent the school's current performance and do not include trend data from prior years, so it is unclear whether the school's results are stable or shifting.
The student population is predominantly white, with smaller numbers of students identifying as two or more races, Black, or Hispanic. The enrollment is roughly split between grade five and grade six. Specific data on free-or-reduced-price lunch participation and on special populations such as students with IEPs or English learners was not provided, so a parent may want to look into those enrollment details directly with the school to understand what support services are available.
East Liverpool City School District has undertaken a significant curriculum reorganization in recent years. The district adopted a literacy program called MyView and created a reading achievement team and plan, with a literacy coach now supporting multiple elementary buildings. This represents a structural change in how the district teaches reading from the ground up. The district is also expanding STEM programming down to the elementary level, offering every student a STEM elective. At the middle and high school levels, the district has refreshed core materials in science, social studies, math, and career-technical offerings. For families in the district, these changes mean that children coming through the system now encounter different instructional approaches and updated curricula than previous cohorts.
East Liverpool as a place has experienced long-term population decline from an earlier industrial peak, though recent years have brought targeted downtown revitalization. A major business relocation and historic building restoration project was announced, bringing new employment and housing development focus to the downtown core. Housing in the area is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks. The city retains a walkable historic downtown with antique shops, restaurants, and civic anchors like the Carnegie Library and the Museum of Ceramics, though much of the broader economic activity has shifted to nearby retail strips.
Westgate Middle School offers a conventional middle-grade experience in a small-enrollment setting within a district that is actively reshaping its instructional foundation. Families should discuss with the school its particular approach to the literacy and STEM initiatives the district has launched, and what support services are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards in math or ELA.
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