Woodworth Middle, Fond Du Lac WI

Original Research by School Decision on Woodworth Middle

Woodworth Middle serves sixth through eighth graders in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as one of three middle schools in the Fond du Lac School District. For families considering this school, the picture starts with state assessment results. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was close to half across all three grade levels tested, with seventh graders posting slightly higher results than sixth or eighth graders. In English language arts, the pattern was a bit higher, with eighth graders reaching a noticeably stronger showing than the younger grades. Science proficiency was lower, while social studies results landed between the ELA and science outcomes. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index sat in the bottom quarter among the six districts in Fond du Lac County. That is a soft spot, and a parent may want to discuss with the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting the bar, and how it challenges those who are.

The student body is majority white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. About half of the students come from households with low enough income to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it serves a straightforward grade span with no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate or advanced placement data applicable here. The enrollment is large enough to support a full middle school program but not so large that it feels impersonal; class sections across the three grades appear balanced.

The district did not provide recent public information about strategic changes, new programs, or policy shifts that would directly affect a family’s daily experience, so this account reflects the school as it stands today rather than a place in visible transition. Fond du Lac itself is a mid-sized city with a diversified manufacturing and services economy anchored by Mercury Marine’s world headquarters. The city has a historic downtown core, a sizable lakefront park, and several colleges, giving it more civic and cultural infrastructure than a smaller town would. Housing costs in the area sit below the statewide benchmark for Wisconsin, and rents have seen a notable increase. The city offers public transit, a county fairgrounds, and multiple parks, all of which support a family-oriented community life.

For a parent weighing Woodworth Middle, the academic picture is the main thing to consider. The proficiency rates suggest room for growth, and the comparison to other Fond du Lac County districts places this school toward the lower end of the local range. A family that values strong academic outcomes on standardized measures may find that this school does not yet match higher-performing neighbors. A family that is focused on the community setting, the size and composition of the student body, and the overall experience of the Fond du Lac area may find the school a reasonable fit and may want to ask about specific academic supports and enrichment offerings beyond the state test results.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 57% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 63% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 54% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 54% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 61% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 51% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolFond du Lac 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-income37%Higher-income65%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income64%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income75%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income65%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income70%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income67%39 pp gap