Original Research by School Decision on Cambridge High
Cambridge High serves grades nine through twelve as the sole traditional high school within the Cambridge School District, a small district that also includes a newer public charter school focused on agricultural education for grades seven through twelve. The high school itself is a regular public school with a modest enrollment, and its student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in a moderate range for economic need.
The village of Cambridge sits at the edge of the Madison metropolitan area, straddling Dane and Jefferson counties. Its historic downtown, compact and walkable at its core, holds shops, cafes, and galleries, with Rowe Pottery as a longtime local anchor. The village is small, set among rolling hills and farmland, and has seen steady population growth over recent decades. Outdoor recreation is a draw: the Glacial Drumlin State Trail, CamRock County Park with its mountain bike track, and Lake Ripley all lie within or near the village. The school itself is part of the Cambridge School District, which also includes a newer public charter school, Koshkonong Trails School, established in recent years with an agricultural education focus for grades seven through twelve.
State testing data for Cambridge High was not available in the data provided, so a direct measure of academic proficiency cannot be reported here. Similarly, the four-year graduation rate and chronic absenteeism rate were not available, and the comparison to other Jefferson County districts could not be completed on these metrics. A parent may want to ask the school or district directly for the most recent state test results and graduation figures. The absence of this data does not necessarily indicate a problem; it may reflect the grade band or reporting cycles, but it is a gap worth clarifying.
The student body is small, with enrollment distributed across the four high school grades in a typical pattern. The school is overwhelmingly white in its composition, with a very small share of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Information on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the data provided.
Housing in the Cambridge area carries a value that sits above the statewide median home price, reflecting the village's position within commuting distance of the Madison metro area. Monthly mortgage costs on a typical home would be higher than the average rent, a common pattern in markets where homeownership is a stretch for many households. The village has seen steady population growth over recent decades, and the district itself added a new public charter school in recent years, Koshkonong Trails School, which serves grades seven through twelve with an agricultural education focus. That addition gives families within the district an alternative secondary pathway beyond the traditional high school.
Cambridge High is a small high school, and its size means students are likely to be known individually by staff. The student body is not diverse by race or ethnicity. The school does not appear to be a charter or magnet school, and its Title I status was not reported. No data on discipline, course access, staffing ratios, or attendance rates was available, so a parent may want to inquire directly about class sizes, Advanced Placement or dual-credit offerings, and the school's approach to student support.
For a family considering Cambridge, the village offers a small-town setting with a walkable downtown core, access to outdoor recreation, and a location within commuting distance of Madison. The high school is the traditional secondary option in a district that also provides a charter school with an agricultural focus. The lack of state testing and graduation data means a parent should seek those figures from the school to get a full picture of academic outcomes. The school's small size and the district's single-high-school structure mean that most students in the community attend together, creating a close-knit peer environment.
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