Cumberland Middle, Cumberland WI

Original Research by School Decision on Cumberland Middle

Cumberland Middle School serves grades five through eight in the Cumberland School District, a small, regular public school in the city of Cumberland, Wisconsin. The school sits within a compact community known as “The Island City,” where the original downtown is nearly surrounded by Beaver Dam Lake. The city has a small-town, lakeside character, with a modest population and an older demographic profile. The school itself is one of several in the district, which also includes an elementary school, a high school, and an alternative academy, all within the city’s tight footprint.

The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a meaningful share and a small American Indian presence. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in a context where economic need is a significant factor. The school serves grades five through eight, and enrollment is spread fairly evenly across those four grade levels.

On the Wisconsin Forward Exam, Cumberland Middle’s results show a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates vary by grade. Fifth, sixth, and eighth graders posted rates that were around the midpoint or a bit above, while seventh graders had a notably lower rate. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: fifth graders performed at a level comparable to their math result, while sixth, seventh, and eighth graders each had rates that were lower, with seventh graders again showing the softest performance. Eighth graders took science and social studies assessments as well. The science proficiency rate was in the same range as the lower ELA results, while the social studies rate was higher, closer to the stronger math results. When compared with other districts in Barron County, Cumberland Middle’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. This is a meaningful signal for a parent to consider, though the school’s performance is not uniformly low; it varies by grade and subject, with some grades and subjects performing at a level that is closer to the middle of the pack.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, and English learner status were not available in the provided records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those areas.

Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks, with home values that have seen a modest increase. The community is small and rural, with an older demographic profile and a slow growth trajectory. The school’s location on the island near downtown means it is integrated into the town’s center, not isolated on a distant campus.

For a family considering Cumberland Middle, the academic picture is one of variability. The school’s overall proficiency, when averaged across all tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Barron County. That said, the school is not uniformly low; some grade levels and subjects, particularly math in fifth, sixth, and eighth grades and social studies in eighth grade, show stronger results. The weaker areas, especially seventh-grade math and ELA, are where a parent may want to ask the school about instructional supports or curriculum adjustments. The school is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation, and it serves a community that is small, older, and economically mixed. For a family already in the Cumberland area, this is the local middle school, and its academic profile is one to examine grade by grade rather than take as a single story.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 54% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 37% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 53% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 49% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolCumberland School District, 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-income36%Higher-income69%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income61%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income49%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income54%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income66%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income69%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income49%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income57%1 pp gap