Walhalla Middle, Walhalla SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Walhalla Middle

Walhalla Middle is a regular public school serving sixth through eighth grade in the county seat of Oconee County. It sits within the city limits of Walhalla, a small town whose historic Main Street and compact downtown give the school a central place in community life. The building is close to Sertoma Field, a community events site that sits between the school and downtown, and the school shares its ZIP code with a broader, more spread-out area that includes Walhalla High School and Walhalla Elementary just outside city limits.

The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that makes up a meaningful share and very small numbers of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial portion of students come from households with economic need, reflected in the share who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports and offerings.

On state assessments, the school shows a clear pattern in which English language arts is the stronger subject. In each grade, a little over half of students reached the proficient level in ELA, with seventh grade posting the highest result. Math proficiency was notably lower, with just over two in five students meeting the standard across all three grades. Science results were available only for sixth grade and fell between the ELA and math figures. Social studies data came from a prior assessment year and is too old to serve as a current picture. The state changed cut scores for ELA and science in recent years, which means year-to-year comparisons are not straightforward. Only one year of assessment data was available in the records, so there is no trend to report.

The neighbor comparison that would normally place this school relative to other districts in Oconee County could not be produced because the comparison group contained only one district. That means there is no local benchmark from the data to say how Walhalla Middle stacks up against other middle schools nearby. A parent looking for that context would need to examine state-level data or ask district officials.

Walhalla itself is a town that has seen modest population change rather than rapid growth. Its economy historically rested on textiles and manufacturing, and a growing manufacturing sector continues to attract new arrivals. The town is a gateway to outdoor recreation in the Blue Ridge foothills, with Stumphouse Mountain Park and a new bike park nearby, and it will eventually serve as the terminus of the Palmetto Trail. Housing in the area shows typical home values that are below the national average, and rents are such that renting is slightly cheaper than buying with a mortgage at current rates. No major new housing developments were identified in the available sources, and the broader ZIP code area has a higher, more spread-out population than the city proper.

The school district, Oconee 01, is headquartered in Walhalla. The district brief search returned no specific findings about recent bond measures or strategic changes, so no update on district-level initiatives is available from this data.

For a parent considering Walhalla Middle, the picture is one of a mid-sized school set in a walkable small town with a clear academic profile: ELA is a relative strength, math results leave room for growth, and there are gaps in the available data around special populations and local comparisons that would benefit from a direct conversation with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 37% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 35% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 31% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 55% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 59% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 53% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Science

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 48% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 55% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median

This schoolOconee 01, 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 6Lower-income50%Higher-income70%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income54%Higher-income75%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income69%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income56%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income60%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income61%29 pp gap