Is South Ocean Middle School a good school?

South Ocean Middle School ranks in the bottom 14.4% of New York middle schools.

How many students attend South Ocean Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 559 students attended South Ocean Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of South Ocean Middle School?

Students at South Ocean Middle School are 59% Hispanic, 30% White, 6% African American, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of South Ocean Middle School attend?

Students who attend South Ocean Middle School usually go on to attend Patchogue-Medford High School

South Ocean Middle School

Summary:

South Ocean Middle School is a public middle school located in Patchogue, New York, serving grades 6-8 with a student population of 599. The school is part of the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District, which is ranked 720 out of 865 school districts in New York and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

South Ocean Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of New York middle schools, with a ranking between 879 and 1403 out of around 1500 schools over the past 10 years. Its performance on state assessments is also significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. The school struggles to serve its diverse student population effectively, ranking particularly low for Hispanic and English Language Learner students, placing in the bottom 10-20% of New York middle schools for these subgroups. The performance of African American, White, and Special Education students is also below average compared to their peers statewide. With 57-65% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch over the past 3 years, South Ocean Middle School has a high percentage of students from low-income families, significantly higher than the state and district averages.

When compared to other middle schools in the Patchogue-Medford district and surrounding areas, such as Oregon Middle School, Saxton Middle School, and James Wilson Young Middle School, South Ocean Middle School consistently underperforms. The relatively high spending per student at South Ocean Middle School, between $13,330 and $16,327, coupled with its poor performance, raises questions about how resources are being allocated and utilized within the school.

Detail:

Public 6-8

225 S Ocean Ave
Patchogue, NY 11772-3787

(631) 687-6600

District: Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1288^th of 1,504 New York Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $16,327

Students who attend South Ocean Middle School usually attend:

High:

Patchogue-Medford High School

Feeder schools for South Ocean Middle School:

Elementary:	Bay Elementary School
	Medford Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 9.6

Number of students: 559

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.2%

White:

30.4%

African American:

5.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59%

See top rated New York middle schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details South Ocean Middle School ranks worse than 85.6% of middle schools in New York. It also ranks last among 3 ranked middle schools in the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 20.84. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (59.2%), White (30.4%), African American (5.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 59% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at South Ocean Middle School is 9.6, which is the lowest among 3 middle schools in the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District! (See more...)

Compare South Ocean Middle School employs 57.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at South Ocean Middle School is $16,327, which is the lowest among 3 middle schools in the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

South Ocean Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks South Ocean Middle School 1288^th of 1504 New York public middle schools. (See South Ocean Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District 720^th of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for South Ocean Middle School

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Rank History for all students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2006	43.99	716^th	1095	34.6%
2007	45.01	727^th	1123	35.3%
2008	51.24	721^st	1185	39.2%
2009	55.27	727^th	1224	40.6%
2010	60.63	574^th	1243	53.8%
2011	45.42	789^th	1295	39.1%
2012	39.06	890^th	1337	33.4%
2013	31.94	946^th	1373	31.1%
2014	27.37	1036^th	1401	26.1%
2015	30.74	1000^th	1407	28.9%
2016	38.49	879^th	1429	38.5%
2017	32.87	991^st	1455	31.9%
2018	24.52	1140^th	1438	20.7%
2019	14.30	1314^th	1439	8.7%
2022	14.93	1343^rd	1479	9.2%
2023	12.31	1403^rd	1500	6.5%
2024	20.84	1288^th	1504	14.4%

See the entire list of New York Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	28.50	443^rd	503	11.9%
2019	22.05	471^st	473	0.4%
2022	23.88	550^th	581	5.3%
2023	27.00	518^th	591	12.4%
2024	32.43	467^th	615	24.1%

See the entire list of Best New York Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2022	25.75	1110^th	1283	13.5%
2023	19.85	1230^th	1307	5.9%
2024	26.43	1063^rd	1303	18.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	16.57	1170^th	1245	6.0%
2019	12.38	1207^th	1241	2.7%
2022	12.47	1256^th	1306	3.8%
2023	12.64	1227^th	1288	4.7%
2024	16.41	1183^rd	1296	8.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	24.45	1116^th	1353	17.5%
2019	8.91	1324^th	1370	3.4%
2022	10.31	1394^th	1454	4.1%
2023	13.22	1362^nd	1463	6.9%
2024	22.81	1235^th	1465	15.7%

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

Rank History for Male students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	27.95	1024^th	1352	24.3%
2019	22.10	1132^nd	1366	17.1%
2022	21.07	1229^th	1455	15.5%
2023	13.02	1372^nd	1464	6.3%
2024	21.02	1257^th	1464	14.1%

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

Rank History for African American students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	24.26	573^rd	696	17.7%
2024	40.91	406^th	705	42.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	22.08	705^th	810	13.0%
2019	14.39	778^th	826	5.8%
2022	12.61	875^th	914	4.3%
2023	11.96	910^th	943	3.5%
2024	17.98	869^th	953	8.8%

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

Rank History for White students at South Ocean Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2019	35.63	477^th	716	33.4%
2022	24.00	612^th	748	18.2%
2023	20.25	673^rd	772	12.8%
2024	39.86	487^th	778	37.4%

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

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, 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: NY State Education Department

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for South Ocean Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	558	15	12	96	2	n/a	n/a	0	683
1990	546	18	11	91	2	n/a	n/a	0	668
1991	495	19	13	97	2	n/a	n/a	0	626
1992	508	31	10	84	1	n/a	n/a	0	634
1993	464	22	14	77	4	n/a	n/a	0	581
1994	430	28	15	112	2	n/a	n/a	0	587
1995	523	38	10	104	0	n/a	n/a	0	675
1996	523	38	10	104	0	n/a	n/a	0	675
1997	537	38	13	102	0	n/a	n/a	0	690
1998	547	32	12	108	1	n/a	n/a	0	700
1999	547	33	12	113	0	n/a	n/a	0	705
2000	557	35	11	105	1	n/a	n/a	0	709
2001	563	31	17	112	3	n/a	n/a	0	726
2002	576	30	15	127	3	n/a	n/a	0	751
2003	576	30	15	127	3	n/a	n/a	0	751
2004	623	31	18	166	2	n/a	n/a	0	840
2005	443	26	9	134	1	n/a	n/a	0	613
2006	406	26	4	146	1	n/a	n/a	0	583
2007	384	23	5	129	0	n/a	n/a	0	541
2008	349	16	10	116	2	n/a	n/a	0	493
2009	320	27	11	118	3	n/a	n/a	1	480
2010	310	21	12	147	3	n/a	n/a	2	495
2011	295	27	15	169	2	0	5	0	513
2012	278	29	17	182	0	0	3	0	509
2013	241	27	12	196	1	0	2	0	479
2014	219	22	12	219	1	0	1	0	474
2015	206	18	16	226	1	0	7	0	474
2016	218	15	13	225	2	0	8	0	481
2017	202	15	12	241	1	0	11	0	482
2018	208	19	9	272	1	0	13	0	522
2019	186	19	10	253	0	0	14	0	482
2020	220	26	17	304	0	0	20	0	587
2021	218	26	18	333	1	0	16	0	612
2022	206	25	16	376	0	0	16	0	639
2023	182	27	14	355	0	0	21	0	599
2024	170	32	6	331	0	0	20	0	559

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 South Ocean Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	683	46.0	14.8	n/a
1990	668	48.3	13.8	n/a
1991	626	48.1	13.0	n/a
1992	634	38.1	16.6	n/a
1993	581	40.0	14.5	n/a
1994	587	40.0	14.7	34.4
1995	675	41.0	16.5	27.4
1996	675	41.0	16.5	27.4
1997	690	39.0	17.7	29.6
1998	700	39.5	17.7	29.3
1999	705	48.0	14.7	24
2000	709	45.0	15.8	50.5
2001	726	48.5	15.0	26.2
2002	751	48.6	15.5	36
2003	751	48.6	15.5	36
2004	840	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	613	38.1	16.1	26.9
2006	583	37.0	15.8	24.5
2007	541	35.0	15.5	25.5
2008	493	31.0	15.9	29
2009	480	31.0	15.5	31.1
2010	495	28.6	17.3	34.7
2011	513	29.5	17.3	34.9
2012	509	25.0	20.3	53
2013	479	23.6	20.2	55.3
2014	474	21.5	22.0	59.3
2015	474	23.0	20.6	58.6
2016	481	23.0	20.9	61.5
2017	482	25.5	18.9	55.4
2018	522	30.3	17.2	62.5
2019	482	28.4	16.9	60.6
2020	587	52.2	11.2	61.8
2021	612	46.1	13.2	64.9
2022	639	49.3	12.9	59.6
2023	599	55.4	10.8	57.4
2024	559	57.6	9.6	59

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 South Ocean Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	683	46.0	14.8	n/a
1990	668	48.3	13.8	n/a
1991	626	48.1	13.0	n/a
1992	634	38.1	16.6	n/a
1993	581	40.0	14.5	n/a
1994	587	40.0	14.7	34.4
1995	675	41.0	16.5	27.4
1996	675	41.0	16.5	27.4
1997	690	39.0	17.7	29.6
1998	700	39.5	17.7	29.3
1999	705	48.0	14.7	24
2000	709	45.0	15.8	50.5
2001	726	48.5	15.0	26.2
2002	751	48.6	15.5	36
2003	751	48.6	15.5	36
2004	840	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	613	38.1	16.1	26.9
2006	583	37.0	15.8	24.5
2007	541	35.0	15.5	25.5
2008	493	31.0	15.9	29
2009	480	31.0	15.5	31.1
2010	495	28.6	17.3	34.7
2011	513	29.5	17.3	34.9
2012	509	25.0	20.3	53
2013	479	23.6	20.2	55.3
2014	474	21.5	22.0	59.3
2015	474	23.0	20.6	58.6
2016	481	23.0	20.9	61.5
2017	482	25.5	18.9	55.4
2018	522	30.3	17.2	62.5
2019	482	28.4	16.9	60.6
2020	587	52.2	11.2	61.8
2021	612	46.1	13.2	64.9
2022	639	49.3	12.9	59.6
2023	599	55.4	10.8	57.4
2024	559	57.6	9.6	59

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.

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