Grades 6-8Middle schoolOpen

Southwest Middle

Gaston County Schools · Gaston County

Address
1 Roadrunner Drive, Gastonia, NC 28052
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Grades served
6-8
NCES school ID
370162000712
832
Students
54.1
Teachers (FTE)
15.4:1
Student–teacher ratio
D
Performance grade
42
Performance score
Met
Academic growth
31.8%
Chronically absent
69.1%
Economically disadvantaged

School calendar

Southwest Middle's own events for the year — school events, holidays, breaks and teacher workdays — with a printable PDF and a calendar file you can subscribe to.

View the calendar →

Attendance zone

Gaston County Schools

The area Gaston County Schools assigns to Southwest Middle. Zones change, and addresses near a boundary are often decided case by case - confirm with the district before making plans.

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Zone for Southwest MiddleNeighbouring zoneThis school

Zone boundary published by Gaston County Schools as “AdminBnds/GastonCountySchoolDistricts”, last updated 2026-09-12.

How Southwest Middle compares

Its 2024–25 performance score of 42 against comparable schools. Percentile is the share of that group scoring lower.

All North Carolina public schools7th percentile
Higher than 7% · rank 2,280 of 2,483
North Carolina middle schools14th percentile
Higher than 14% · rank 379 of 456
Gaston County Schools11th percentile
Higher than 11% · rank 47 of 54

Chronic absence is lower here than at 22% of the 2,482 North Carolina schools reporting it.

Performance score since 2014

025507510014151617181922232425

Score unchanged since 2014 (42 → 42). Met or exceeded expected growth in 8 of 10 years, exceeding it in 4. No grades were issued for 2020 or 2021.

YearScoreGradeGrowthAchievement
202542DMet32.8
202436FNot Met32.4
202348DExceeded38.1
202249DExceeded38.6
201962CExceeded52.5
201856CExceeded47.8
201750DMet44
201648DMet40
201544DMet37
201442DNot Met38

Rankings and trends are calculated by Back To School NC from NC DPI report card results; NC DPI publishes each school's own figures but not its standing among peers. See Gaston County Schools for district totals.

Student Demographics

Hispanic 36.3%Black 33.65%White 22.48%Two+ Races 6.85%Asian 0.6%Native Am. 0.12%
Hispanic: 36.3% (302) Black: 33.65% (280) White: 22.48% (187) Two+ Races: 6.85% (57) Asian: 0.6% (5) Native Am.: 0.12% (1)
Hispanic36.3%
Black33.65%
White22.48%
Two+ Races6.85%
Asian0.6%
Native Am.0.12%

Gender Distribution

Total Students: 832
44.59%371 Female
55.41%461 Male

Student counts for Southwest Middle, 2024-2025, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Percentages are of 832 students and may not total 100% because of rounding.

Students

Regular attendance 68.2%Chronically absent 31.8%
Regular attendance: 68.2% (664) Chronically absent: 31.8% (310)
Regular attendance68.2%
Chronically absent31.8%

Student Population

Students Counted: 974
69.1%Economically disadvantaged
20.79%173 English learners

Student indicators for Southwest Middle, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Attendance is out of the 974 students DPI counted. A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of the days enrolled; the other measures overlap it and each other.

Teachers

Experienced 59.79%Beginning 40.21%
Experienced: 59.79% (20) Beginning: 40.21% (13)
Experienced59.79%
Beginning40.21%

Licensing & Certification

Total Teachers: 32.6 FTE
88.2%Fully licensed
11.8%Emergency or provisional
0%0 teachers certified

Teacher figures for Southwest Middle, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Counts are full-time equivalents, not headcount. Licensing and certification percentages are each out of 32.6 FTE.

NC School Report Card

2024-2025

Student performance by subject

SubjectGrade-level proficientCareer & college ready
Science (grades 5 & 8)34.9%18.6%
Mathematics (grades 3–8)31.3%16.2%
Reading (grades 3–8)30.9%13.6%

Grade-level proficient is levels 3–5; career and college ready is the higher bar of levels 4–5.

Achievement levels

SubjectNot ProficientLevel 3Level 4Level 5
Mathematics (grades 3–8)68.7%15%13.3%--
Reading (grades 3–8)69.1%17.3%11.6%--
Science (grades 5 & 8)65.1%16.3%16.6%--

Academic growth

MeasureStatusGrowth indexScore
OverallMeets Expected Growth0.3980.9

Teachers

Reported as full-time-equivalent staff, so figures carry decimals.

MeasureValue
Total teachers32.63
Experienced teachers19.51 (60%)
Beginning teachers13.12 (40%)
Holding a standard license28.78 (88%)
Emergency or provisional licenses3.85 (12%)
National Board certified0

Students

MeasureValue
Chronically absent (310 of 974)31.8%
Economically disadvantaged69.1%
English learners making progress (of 173)18.5%

School environment

MeasureValue
Devices per student0.56
Library books per student10.51
Students have device accessYes
Devices may go homeYes
Wireless access points per classroom1.33

Federal & state designations

DesignationApplies
Low-performing schoolYes
Recurring low-performingYes
CSI — low performingNo
CSI — low graduation rateNo
TSI — at riskYes
TSI — consistently underperformingYes

CSI is Comprehensive Support and Improvement; TSI is Targeted Support and Improvement, both federal ESSA categories.

Official school website →

First page of the Southwest Middle report card PDF

Download this report card

Southwest Middle's 2024-2025 report card as an interactive PDF — bookmarked sections, donut and bar charts for performance, attendance and achievement levels, and the NC DPI and NCES sources cited with working links.

Enrollment and staffing come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), U.S. Department of Education for 2024-2025; performance, attendance and economic-need figures are the state's NC School Report Card for the same year. Contact the school to confirm current details.