Ironton Middle School, Ironton OH

Original Research by School Decision on Ironton Middle School

Ironton Middle School serves grades six through eight in a small Ohio River city that has historically centered on iron manufacturing and now functions as the county seat and civic hub of Lawrence County. The school enrolls a modestly sized student body that is overwhelmingly white, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The community itself has experienced long-term population decline from its industrial peak, though recent investment in manufacturing expansion and affordable housing projects suggests renewed economic activity on the horizon.

On state assessments, the school shows mixed performance across subjects. In science, proficiency runs substantially above the threshold most families recognize as solid. In math, proficiency is above the midpoint. In English language arts, proficiency falls noticeably lower. The overall pattern positions the school below the midpoint among districts in Lawrence County on a composite proficiency index, which a parent may want to look into further with the school to understand where the weaker results in ELA are concentrated and what support is available.

Only single-year data is available; trend information that would show whether results are moving upward or downward was not accessible. State testing in social studies was last reported in 2016, so current performance in that subject is unknown.

The school's enrollment is drawn from a city neighborhood environment rather than a rural setting. Housing in the Ironton area is substantially more affordable than state and national benchmarks, with home values well below both the Ohio and national median, making the community accessible for families seeking lower-cost entry into homeownership. The local economic foundation includes health care, manufacturing, and educational services, with a major manufacturing employer (Vertiv) publicly announced to be expanding its Ironton operations and creating new jobs through the end of the decade.

Free and reduced price lunch data, the count of students with IEPs, English learner enrollment, chronic absenteeism rates, and discipline records were not available in the data provided. The school's website address was also not included. A parent interested in understanding the school's student support systems, special education services, or English learner programs would benefit from contacting the school or district directly for those details.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grades 3-864%

School 64% · District 58% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-859%

School 59% · District 57% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grades 3-881%

School 81% · District 71% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 666%

School 66% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median

This schoolIronton City 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.