Compare Smith Middle School with Thornton Middle School

Smith Middle School performed excellent to earn a State accountability rating of A (90-100) based on three domains: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Scores are scaled from 0 to 100 to align with letter grades. The school scored 96 in student achievement, 94 in school progress and an impressive100 in closing performance gaps. It scored 97 overall in post-secondary readiness, a broad term that refers to student preparedness to undertake multiple pathways after graduation, or specifically, their preparedness for college education.

On the other hand, Thornton Middle School earned a State accountability rating of B. The school posted 75 in student achievement, 85 in school progress, 73 in closing performance gaps and 81 overall in post-secondary readiness.

A distinction designation acknowledges districts and campuses for outstanding achievement based on the outcomes of several performance indicators. Distinction designations are awarded for achievement in several areas and are based on performance relative to a group of campuses of similar type, size, grade span, and student demographics.

It is in this area where the two schools differ. Smith Middle School bagged all seven distinction awards in Reading/English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, post-secondary, with 25% student progress and 25% closing performance gaps. Thornton Middle School’s only distinction designation is in Read/ELA.

Based on Racial/Ethnic Groups, Whites or Caucasians comprise the biggest group at Smith Middle School. They make up for 40.38% of student population, followed by Asians (22.03%), Hispanics (21.59%), African Americans (11.37%), Two or More Races (4.01%) and Native Americans (0.33%).

At Thornton Middle School, Hispanics are the biggest group, comprising 54.79% of student population, followed by African Americans (31.34%), Whites or Caucasians (5.67%), Asians (4.56%), Two or More Races (2.54%) and Native Americans (0.78%).

Based on household incomes, the Smith Middle School’s economically disadvantaged students is significantly lower at 13.52% compared to 79.54% at Thornton Middle School.

In terms of Limited English Proficiency (LEP), a term used in the United States that refers to a person who is not fluent in the English Language, mainly because it is not their native language, Smith Middle School has 57 English Language Learners or ELLS or about 3.13% of student population. Thornton Middle School has significantly more ELLs at 266 or about 17.33% of student population.

Smith Middle School’s bilingual students comprise 2.75%, gifted and talented students, 23.85%, while 6.43% are in the special education program. Thornton Middle School bilingual students comprise 15.05%, gifted and talented students, 3.71%, and 11.60% are in the special education program.

Smith Middle School's 93 teachers have been working at the campus for an average of 7.5 years with individual teaching experience averaging 11.2 years. Teachers at Thornton Middle School, numbering 100 teachers, have been serving the school for an average of 5 years with individual teaching experience averaging 8.2 years.

Of its teaching staff, Smith Middle School has one teacher only serving the school for over 30 years, has 12 teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 33 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, 22 teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 20 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including five beginning teachers. Thornton Middle School has two teachers serving the school for over 30 years, has six teachers serving the school for 20-30 years, 27 teachers have worked for 11-20 years, 20 teachers have worked for 6-10 years, while 32 teachers have been serving the school for over 1-5 years, including 14 beginning teachers.

In both schools, female teachers outnumber the male teachers. At Smith Middle School there are 69 female teachers and 24 male teachers. Of its teaching staff, eight special education teachers are being assisted by 13 teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has five staff members in the school administration department and nine more working as school support staff.

At Thornton Middle School there are 66 female teachers and 34 male teachers. Of its teaching staff, 11 special education teachers are being assisted by 19 teachers aides or paraprofessionals. In addition to its teaching staff, the school has five staff members in the school administration department and 16 more working as school support staff.