The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Winona Middle
Winona Middle School serves grades five through eight as a regular public school in the Winona Area Public School District. It is the only middle school in the district, drawing students from across the city and the surrounding area. The school sits just outside downtown Winona, a city of mixed residential, commercial, and industrial character set along the Mississippi River in Minnesota’s bluff country. Two universities anchor the town, giving it a student presence that shapes the local economy alongside manufacturers and corporate headquarters like Fastenal and RTP Company. The downtown core is compact and walkable, with a riverfront park, historic architecture, and cultural institutions such as the Minnesota Marine Art Museum and the Great River Shakespeare Festival.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is regular in its mission, not a magnet or charter, and no Title I status was reported. Enrollment is spread fairly evenly across grades five through eight, indicating a stable student population entering and moving through the middle grades.
State assessment data from the most recent testing year shows a pattern of declining proficiency as students move into the upper grades. In reading, approximately half of fifth graders and half of sixth graders met the state’s proficiency standard. Performance dropped more sharply in seventh grade, where a smaller share of students were proficient, and fell again in eighth grade. Math results followed a steeper downward slope across the same grades. Science was tested in grades five and eight. Fifth graders had a limited proficiency rate, and eighth-grade science results were notably low. The district may want to review these trends, and a parent considering this school should inquire about how the school supports students whose skills are not yet at the state standard as they move through the middle school years.
The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quartile relative to districts within Winona County. That comparison group includes eight districts, and this school sits well below the middle of that set. It is a data point that warrants further conversation with the school or district about instructional strategies, intervention programs, and how the school addresses gaps in learning as students progress.
No data was available on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access at this school, so those dimensions are not part of this account. The district, meanwhile, has faced enrollment pressures. The Winona School Board voted to close Goodview Elementary School, citing declining enrollment and budget concerns, and reassigned students to other elementary buildings. That consolidation signals a district adjusting to a shrinking student population. At the same time, voters approved renewal of two operating levies in late 2024, extending funding that supports current programming. This combination of levy renewal and school closure suggests a district managing stable operational funding against a reduced student base.
Housing in Winona is moderately priced compared to state and national benchmarks, with home values and rents that are lower than Minnesota averages. That relative affordability may appeal to families. The school itself sits in a community where civic life is active and the setting is distinct, with the river, bluffs, and university presence creating a small city that is neither a rural outpost nor a suburb.
Winona Middle School offers a conventional middle school program for a community that values a city with cultural depth and manageable housing costs. A family looking at this school should expect to engage with the staff around the academic performance trends, particularly the drop-off in the upper middle grades, and ask what the school is doing to lift outcomes for all students.
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