School of Options and Applied Research Middle, Land O' Lakes WI

Original Research by School Decision on School of Options and Applied Research Middle

The School of Options and Applied Research Middle is a small charter school serving grades five through eight in the rural town of Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin, part of the Northland Pines School District. Its enrollment is modest for a middle school, and the student body is predominantly White, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school sits within a community oriented heavily toward outdoor recreation and tourism; Land O' Lakes has many lakes, trails, and seasonal homes, and the year-round population is older and spread thinly across the landscape. Because this is a charter school, families choose to enroll here rather than attend the district's other middle school options, though detailed information about the school's specific programming or thematic focus is not present in the available data.

On state assessments for the most recent school year, proficiency rates varied notably by grade and subject. In mathematics, results ranged from a very low rate in eighth grade to a somewhat higher rate in seventh grade, with fifth grade falling in between. English language arts showed a similar pattern, with fifth and seventh grades scoring better than eighth grade. Science and social studies results for eighth graders were low. One grade level had its results suppressed due to the small number of students tested, which is common in a school this size and means families should interpret single-year scores cautiously. Compared with other schools within Vilas County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. This is a soft spot; a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the instructional approach and how it supports student learning across subjects, especially given the very low math and science results for eighth grade.

Because the school serves only middle grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline are not available. The district itself did not have any recent notable changes reported in the research. For a family considering this school, the small size means close relationships among students and staff, but also a limited peer group. The rural setting offers quiet and access to the outdoors, yet comes with long drives to services and to the high school, which is located in a different town. The school's name signals an emphasis on options and applied research, but without program details in the data, a parent would need to contact the school directly to learn how that translates into daily academics.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 45% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 39% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 54% · ▼ 54 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 50% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 48% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median

Science

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 55% · ▼ 40 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 56% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median

This schoolNorthland Pines 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 6Lower-income43%Higher-income57%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income60%48 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income71%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income70%58 pp gap