Is Beacon Middle School a good school?

Yes. Beacon Middle School ranks in the top 9.3% of Delaware middle schools.

How many students attend Beacon Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 705 students attended Beacon Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Beacon Middle School?

Students at Beacon Middle School are 71% White, 13% Hispanic, 8% African American, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Beacon Middle School attend?

Students who attend Beacon Middle School usually go on to attend Cape Henlopen High School

Beacon Middle School

Summary:

Beacon Middle School is a public middle school located in Lewes, Delaware, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 648 students. The school is part of the Cape Henlopen School District, which is ranked 2nd out of 32 districts in Delaware and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Beacon Middle School consistently outperforms the state and district averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics across all grade levels. In the 2023-2024 school year, Beacon Middle School's proficiency rates in ELA ranged from 68.46% to 69.55%, compared to the state average of 38.39% to 40.84%. In Mathematics, Beacon Middle School's proficiency rates ranged from 54.73% to 58.67%, compared to the state average of 24.81% to 27.92%. The school also outperforms the state and district in DeSSA Science and Social Studies assessments for 8th grade. Beacon Middle School has consistently ranked among the top 5-10 middle schools in Delaware over the past several years, with a ranking of 5 out of 54 middle schools in the state for the 2023-2024 school year.

Compared to other middle schools in the Cape Henlopen and Indian River school districts, Mariner Middle School, the closest middle school in the same district, has lower proficiency rates in ELA and Mathematics, as well as a lower statewide ranking. Schools in the Indian River district, such as Selbyville Middle School and Georgetown Middle School, also lag behind Beacon Middle School in academic performance and statewide rankings.

Detail:

Public 6-8

19483 John J. Williams Highway
Lewes, DE 19958

(302) 645-6288

District: Cape Henlopen School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
5^th of 54 Delaware Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,093

Students who attend Beacon Middle School usually attend:

High:

Cape Henlopen High School

Feeder schools for Beacon Middle School:

Elementary:	Lewes Elementary School
	Rehoboth Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.1

Number of students: 705

Racial breakdown:

White:

71.1%

Hispanic:

13.3%

African American:

7.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 28.6%

See top rated Delaware middle schools

Compare Beacon Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Beacon Middle School ranks better than 90.7% of middle schools in Delaware. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 91.98. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (71.1%), Hispanic (13.3%), African American (7.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Beacon Middle School is 14.1. (See more...)

Compare Beacon Middle School employs 50 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Beacon Middle School is $13,093.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Beacon Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Beacon Middle School 5^th of 54 Delaware public middle schools. (See Beacon Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Cape Henlopen School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Cape Henlopen School District 2^nd of 32 Delaware school districts. (See district ranking list.)

What do you think?

Your rating for Beacon Middle School?

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Rank History for Beacon Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2011	86.22	4^th	38	89.5%
2012	86.51	4^th	38	89.5%
2013	88.57	3^rd	37	91.9%
2015	84.96	8^th	49	83.7%
2016	89.06	4^th	35	88.6%
2017	88.97	3^rd	35	91.4%
2018	86.24	5^th	35	85.7%
2019	85.34	9^th	52	82.7%
2021	87.16	5^th	47	89.4%
2022	90.35	5^th	51	90.2%
2023	92.87	5^th	53	90.6%
2024	91.98	5^th	54	90.7%

See the entire list of Delaware Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	69.77	2^nd	7	71.4%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	70.45	1^st	9	88.9%
2022	88.07	1^st	9	88.9%
2023	73.36	2^nd	5	60.0%
2024	78.93	2^nd	9	77.8%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	83.26	4^th	41	90.2%
2021	92.01	1^st	19	94.7%
2022	94.73	2^nd	38	94.7%
2023	82.10	5^th	40	87.5%
2024	76.44	5^th	39	87.2%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	88.27	3^rd	49	93.9%
2021	90.02	4^th	38	89.5%
2022	91.66	5^th	50	90.0%
2023	94.75	4^th	50	92.0%
2024	88.86	6^th	49	87.8%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	84.46	8^th	49	83.7%
2021	82.74	7^th	38	81.6%
2022	83.25	10^th	50	80.0%
2023	88.03	7^th	50	86.0%
2024	90.61	6^th	49	87.8%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	56.20	18^th	44	59.1%
2022	63.39	11^th	41	73.2%
2023	49.52	18^th	43	58.1%
2024	67.82	9^th	42	78.6%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	91.98	2^nd	35	94.3%
2021	88.63	1^st	18	94.4%
2022	81.17	5^th	37	86.5%
2023	93.94	3^rd	37	91.9%
2024	84.56	5^th	37	86.5%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Beacon Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	DE State Percentile
2019	83.07	4^th	43	90.7%
2021	89.03	4^th	41	90.2%
2022	89.04	4^th	45	91.1%
2023	91.63	5^th	44	88.6%
2024	92.14	3^rd	45	93.3%

See the entire list of Best Delaware Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Delaware Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Delaware Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Beacon Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	406	142	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	550
1989	299	89	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	388
1990	324	85	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	410
1991	422	106	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	528
1992	577	167	7	4	1	n/a	n/a	756
1993	620	175	10	6	1	n/a	n/a	812
1994	638	179	10	8	1	n/a	n/a	836
1995	602	172	9	4	2	n/a	n/a	789
1996	602	172	9	4	2	n/a	n/a	789
1997	597	146	8	2	2	n/a	n/a	755
1998	613	153	4	7	2	n/a	n/a	779
1999	623	132	10	8	4	n/a	n/a	777
2000	647	132	9	15	6	n/a	n/a	809
2001	598	104	10	11	7	n/a	n/a	730
2002	670	116	16	18	9	n/a	n/a	829
2003	670	116	16	18	9	n/a	n/a	829
2004	457	83	7	17	4	n/a	n/a	568
2005	414	66	13	17	5	n/a	n/a	515
2006	396	76	18	23	4	n/a	n/a	517
2007	365	73	20	18	7	n/a	n/a	483
2008	407	68	18	19	6	n/a	n/a	518
2009	396	86	16	24	5	n/a	n/a	527
2010	390	70	13	25	4	n/a	n/a	502
2011	361	57	14	39	3	0	17	491
2012	380	53	15	46	2	0	24	520
2013	416	54	15	52	1	0	24	562
2014	404	63	13	53	3	1	22	559
2015	422	63	10	51	3	1	13	563
2016	433	59	12	49	3	1	16	573
2017	465	65	12	56	5	2	21	626
2018	475	60	15	63	3	1	28	645
2019	504	63	13	69	3	1	30	683
2020	520	70	14	86	2	0	23	715
2021	500	65	11	79	7	2	15	679
2022	474	65	12	99	5	1	15	671
2023	471	51	13	78	6	1	28	648
2024	501	56	13	94	3	0	38	705

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Beacon Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	550	24.5	22.4	18.7
1989	388	23.0	16.8	32.5
1990	410	23.0	17.8	37.3
1991	528	32.0	16.5	24.1
1992	756	49.2	15.3	23.9
1993	812	49.2	16.5	25.7
1994	836	49.0	17.1	25.2
1995	789	49.0	16.1	30.8
1996	789	49.0	16.1	30.8
1997	755	46.0	16.4	29.9
1998	779	48.0	16.2	32.6
1999	777	56.0	13.9	34.7
2000	809	59.0	13.7	32.4
2001	730	51.0	14.3	27.7
2002	829	48.0	17.3	29.7
2003	829	48.0	17.3	29.7
2004	568	32.0	17.8	29.2
2005	515	33.0	15.6	29.5
2006	517	33.0	15.7	27.9
2007	483	36.0	13.4	29
2008	518	36.0	14.4	27
2009	527	35.0	15.1	27.3
2010	502	34.0	14.7	31.9
2011	491	34.0	14.4	38.1
2012	520	38.0	13.6	43.5
2013	562	39.0	14.4	40
2014	559	40.0	13.9	34
2015	563	40.0	14.0	31.1
2016	573	40.0	14.3	28.6
2017	626	40.0	15.6	n/a
2018	645	41.0	15.7	n/a
2019	683	43.0	15.8	n/a
2020	715	47.0	15.2	n/a
2021	679	47.0	14.4	n/a
2022	671	49.0	13.6	n/a
2023	648	48.0	13.5	n/a
2024	705	50.0	14.1	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Beacon Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	550	24.5	22.4	18.7
1989	388	23.0	16.8	32.5
1990	410	23.0	17.8	37.3
1991	528	32.0	16.5	24.1
1992	756	49.2	15.3	23.9
1993	812	49.2	16.5	25.7
1994	836	49.0	17.1	25.2
1995	789	49.0	16.1	30.8
1996	789	49.0	16.1	30.8
1997	755	46.0	16.4	29.9
1998	779	48.0	16.2	32.6
1999	777	56.0	13.9	34.7
2000	809	59.0	13.7	32.4
2001	730	51.0	14.3	27.7
2002	829	48.0	17.3	29.7
2003	829	48.0	17.3	29.7
2004	568	32.0	17.8	29.2
2005	515	33.0	15.6	29.5
2006	517	33.0	15.7	27.9
2007	483	36.0	13.4	29
2008	518	36.0	14.4	27
2009	527	35.0	15.1	27.3
2010	502	34.0	14.7	31.9
2011	491	34.0	14.4	38.1
2012	520	38.0	13.6	43.5
2013	562	39.0	14.4	40
2014	559	40.0	13.9	34
2015	563	40.0	14.0	31.1
2016	573	40.0	14.3	28.6
2017	626	40.0	15.6	n/a
2018	645	41.0	15.7	n/a
2019	683	43.0	15.8	n/a
2020	715	47.0	15.2	n/a
2021	679	47.0	14.4	n/a
2022	671	49.0	13.6	n/a
2023	648	48.0	13.5	n/a
2024	705	50.0	14.1	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Beacon Middle School

Year	Expenditures from Federal Funds	Expenditures from State and Local Funds	Total Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019	$391 (3.0%)	$15,473 (118.2%)	$13,093

Data source: Delaware Department of Education

Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Beacon Middle School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Rank Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Ranks 9^th of 52 Middle schools	Ranks 5^th of 53 Middle schools	7.9%

Test Scores

	% proficient Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	% proficient Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (Beacon Middle School)	68.9	72.2	3.3%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Cape Henlopen School District)	61.7	54.8	6.9%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Delaware)	51.9	35	16.9%
6th Grade Mathematics (Beacon Middle School)	54	61.5	7.5%
6th Grade Mathematics (Cape Henlopen School District)	43.1	49.4	6.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Delaware)	37.6	26.5	11.1%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Beacon Middle School)	72.8	68.5	4.3%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Cape Henlopen School District)	68.1	55.1	13%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Delaware)	54.6	42.6	12%
7th Grade Mathematics (Beacon Middle School)	71.6	57.9	13.7%
7th Grade Mathematics (Cape Henlopen School District)	60.4	46.3	14.1%
7th Grade Mathematics (Delaware)	41	28.9	12.1%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Beacon Middle School)	82.8	64.7	18.1%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Cape Henlopen School District)	74.3	52.6	21.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Delaware)	52.1	41.3	10.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Beacon Middle School)	75.9	53.2	22.7%
8th Grade Mathematics (Cape Henlopen School District)	64.3	45	19.3%
8th Grade Mathematics (Delaware)	38	24.3	13.7%

Student Body

	Number of students Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Number of students Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Total Students	683	648	5.1%
African American	63	51	19%
American Indian	3	6	100%
Asian	13	13
Hispanic	69	78	13%
Pacific Islander	1	1
White	504	471	6.5%
Two or More Races	30	28	6.7%

Schools Near Beacon Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				DeSSA Science (2024)	DeSSA Social Studies (2024)	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2024)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2024)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	DeSSA Science 8th Grade	DeSSA Social Studies 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Beacon Middle School	Public	6-8	19483 John J. Williams Highway	Lewes	19958	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 645-6288	705	50	14.1		501 (71.1%)	56 (7.9%)	94 (13.3%)	13 (1.8%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.4%)	92	5^th of 54 public middle schools	90.7%		92.9	5^th of 53 public middle schools	90.6%		32.8	50.0	69.1	69.6	68.5	55.0	58.7	54.7	$13,093	$391	$15,473
Mariner Middle School	Public	6-8	16391 Harbeson Rd	Milton	19968	Sussex County	Cape Henlopen School District	No	No	No	No	(302) 685-8516	682	49	13.9		402 (58.9%)	73 (10.7%)	164 (24.0%)	11 (1.6%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.1%)	62.2	17^th of 54 public middle schools	68.5%		59	18^th of 53 public middle schools	66.0%	1	22.8	42.7	43.5	40.9	46.1	35.4	35.9	35.8	$14,284	$427	$16,887
Millsboro Middle School	Public	6-8	302 East State Street	Millsboro	19966	Sussex County	Indian River School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 934-3200	756	53	14.2		371 (49.1%)	117 (15.5%)	198 (26.2%)	10 (1.3%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	54 (7.1%)	40.5	29^th of 54 public middle schools	46.3%		31.3	35^th of 53 public middle schools	34.0%	6	11.3	27.1	38.9	38.9	40.3	27.0	26.3	20.9	$14,048	$696	$15,819
Georgetown Middle School	Public	6-8	301 West Market Street	Georgetown	19947	Sussex County	Indian River School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 856-1900	886	58	15.2		196 (22.1%)	85 (9.6%)	569 (64.2%)	2 (0.2%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (3.5%)	47.5	23^rd of 54 public middle schools	57.4%		47.9	22^nd of 53 public middle schools	58.5%	1	16.3	27.7	30.6	48.5	41.9	19.7	41.8	30.0	$13,441	$740	$15,091
Selbyville Middle School	Public	6-8	80 Bethany Rd.	Selbyville	19975	Sussex County	Indian River School District	No	No	No	Yes	(302) 436-1020	749	55	13.6		443 (59.1%)	82 (10.9%)	181 (24.2%)	9 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (4.5%)	73.4	13^th of 54 public middle schools	75.9%		62.3	16^th of 53 public middle schools	69.8%	3	24.0	34.7	56.2	53.4	56.1	45.1	42.7	36.6	$14,435	$755	$16,006

Beacon Middle School

Beacon Middle School:

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Cape Henlopen School District:

What do you think?

Rank History for Beacon Middle School

Rank History for all students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Special Education students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Female students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Male students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for African American students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for Hispanic students at Beacon Middle School

Rank History for White students at Beacon Middle School

Enrollment information for Beacon Middle School

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Beacon Middle School

Student/Teacher Ratio Beacon Middle School

Per Pupil Expenditures for Beacon Middle School

Impact of COVID-19 on Beacon Middle School

Rankings

Test Scores

Student Body

Schools Near Beacon Middle School