The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 68% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on East Muskingum Middle School
East Muskingum Middle School serves grades three through eight in New Concord, a small college village in Muskingum County anchored by Muskingum University. The school sits in a walkable, historic downtown setting on the old National Road with a stable, education-minded community character. The local workforce is heavily white-collar—teaching, administrative support, and management are among the largest occupations—and the village population is essentially flat, neither growing nor declining.
Academically, the school's state testing results are solid and consistent across subjects. On the most recent Ohio State Tests, proficiency rates stood around the mid-to-upper range in English language arts, math, and science, with all students participating in testing. This performance places the school above the midpoint among districts in Muskingum County on overall proficiency. The school has only one year of recent data available, so trend information is limited, but the proficiency levels suggest competent instruction and student engagement across core subjects.
The school's enrollment is about average for its grade band, with the bulk of students in grades six through eight and smaller cohorts in the elementary grades served. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic diversity in the school's attendance area. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available.
The parent district, East Muskingum Local, recently made two significant decisions that shape the school's context. In November 2023, voters narrowly approved a new operating levy after a closely decided vote, adding property tax support through the late 2020s alongside a renewed existing levy. This underscores the community's commitment to school funding, though the narrow margins show the tax question was contested. More substantively for classroom practice, the district has adopted a Science of Reading-aligned approach to early literacy in grades kindergarten through three, training teachers ahead of Ohio's statewide mandate. This evidence-based shift to decodable texts and rigorous phonics instruction reaches all elementary students learning to read and represents a deliberate pedagogy change that parents may notice in how their children develop foundational literacy skills.
The community itself supports a small-town school environment. New Concord's downtown features the Muskingum County Library, Muskingum University's adjacent campus with the Southeastern Ohio Symphony Orchestra, and Village Park, which hosts a summer concert series. The town is walkable and has strong pre-World War II architecture. Interstate 70 bypassed the village decades ago, leaving it quieter and less trafficked than some regional centers. Housing values are modest and affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, making it a low-cost-of-living community. Regionally, major employers include healthcare systems, banking, utilities, and manufacturing; most are outside the village itself.
A parent considering this school should understand it as a competent, community-embedded middle school in a stable small town with a college presence. The recent adoption of evidence-based reading instruction and the district's commitment to that methodology are strengths worth understanding in detail with school staff. The narrow levy vote signals that school funding is something the community values but does not take for granted, a reality that may shape conversations about program funding and future needs.
See more original research from School Decision →