Wca Middle School, Barrett MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Wca Middle School

WCA Middle School serves grades five through eight as a regular public school in the West Central Area district, located in the small rural town of Barrett in west central Minnesota. The school shares a campus with the district’s secondary school and sits within a community that wraps around Barrett Lake, where civic life centers on parks, a historic pavilion, and a lakefront resort. The town’s population has been stable with a slight long-term decline, and the area remains primarily residential with limited commercial activity. Housing values in the area are below the state median, and the local economy is driven by health care, construction, and small businesses, with the school district itself a prominent employer.

The student body reflects the surrounding community: enrollment is modest, and the vast majority of students are white. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families face economic challenges. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material, so a parent seeking specific information on special education or language support programs would need to follow up directly with the school.

Academically, the picture is uneven. On the state assessments in reading and math, performance varies noticeably by grade and subject. In English language arts, fifth and sixth graders showed a stronger grasp of the material, with a majority of students meeting proficiency standards. However, seventh grade reading results were markedly lower, with a much smaller share reaching proficiency, and eighth graders also posted weaker results than the earlier grades. In math, proficiency rates were lower across all grade levels, hovering around a quarter to a third of students meeting the bar. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, were the weakest area, with a relatively small proportion of students scoring proficient or above. Compared with other school districts in Grant County, the overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades placed this school in the bottom quartile. It is worth noting that the comparison set includes only a few districts, so the gap may be narrower or wider depending on which specific peers a family considers.

Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios, so those aspects of the school environment remain opaque from the state-provided data. The district brief turned up no major recent changes or referendums; the school appears to be operating without notable shifts in programming or governance.

For a family considering this school, the key takeaway is that WCA Middle School sits in a tight-knit rural community where school and town are physically and socially integrated. The academic results suggest that while some students perform well, particularly in early middle school reading, math and science achievement is an area of concern. A parent may want to ask the school directly about supports for struggling students, the extent of intervention programming, and how the school addresses the drop in seventh grade reading performance. The lack of public data on special populations and attendance also makes it advisable to inquire about these areas before enrolling. This is a school that may fit a family seeking a small, community-centered setting, but one should go in with eyes open about the academic challenges reflected in the available test results.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 36%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 27%

even with state median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 26%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 7 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 15 pts above state median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 36%

even with state median

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolWEST CENTRAL AREA, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income75%49 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income67%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income24%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income40%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income47%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income35%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income24%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income35%8 pp gap