SW Bluegrass News

There were 268 eighth grade students enrolled in Mercer County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 9.8% less than the previous year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education.

Kenneth D. King Middle School welcomed most of the eighth grade students in the county, registering 220 students.

Within Mercer County schools, the highest student population was found in ninth grade, with the smallest class sizes seen in 11th grade.

Statewide, Mercer County ranked 55th in enrollment numbers. It was also ranked 55th the year before.

Despite escaping some of the pandemic's educational disruptions, Kentucky's achievement gaps have remained an issue since 2019. In the eighth-grade reading assessments, for example, Hispanic students scored eight points lower than their white peers, and the gap reached 15 points in math. Black students fared even worse, falling more than 20 points behind and facing a failure rate nearly double that of their white counterparts.

School	# of 8th Grade Students Enrolled	% of Student Body	Total Enrollment
Kenneth D. King Middle School	220	33.5%	657
Burgin Independent School	42	7.7%	542
Mercer County Day Treatment	6	18.8%	32