Jefferson Middle, Jefferson WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Middle

Jefferson Middle serves grades six through eight in Jefferson, a small city that is the county seat of Jefferson County. The school draws students primarily from the surrounding community, a place with a historic downtown along a Main Street Commercial Historic District, two rivers converging in the middle of town, and a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial employers such as an ethanol plant, a pet food manufacturer, and a power systems plant. The city sits between Milwaukee and Madison, roughly a 35‑minute drive from one and a 25‑minute drive from the other, and it has seen steady growth in population and home values in recent years.

The school itself is a regular public school and is one of six schools in the Jefferson School District. Its enrollment is moderate for a three‑grade middle school. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic share and smaller representations of Black, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. A significant share of students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch, indicating that economic diversity is part of the school’s profile. Data on the share of students with disabilities or English learner status was not available.

On state assessments, which are the Forward exams, Jefferson Middle’s results vary by subject and grade. In math, proficiency was a majority of students across all three tested grades. In English language arts, a smaller majority reached proficiency in each grade, and the rate declined somewhat from sixth to eighth grade. On the eighth‑grade science test, slightly more than half of students scored proficient or above. The strongest area was eighth‑grade social studies, where a solid majority of students were proficient. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts within Jefferson County.

Because Jefferson Middle serves only middle school grades, it does not have a graduation rate to report. Similarly, the data does not include chronic absenteeism rates or discipline figures, and no information on course access or staffing was available. A parent might ask the school directly about these areas if they are a priority.

The school is integrated into the town’s fabric rather than set apart on a separate campus. Jefferson Middle shares the community’s setting, which includes the county courthouse, fair park, and riverfront recreation. The surrounding district has seen recent growth in housing demand, and the city’s marketing emphasizes its appeal to people relocating from larger metro areas. For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one of majority proficiency with some variation by subject, a blend that may work well for some students while others might benefit from additional support, particularly in English language arts and science. The school’s economic and ethnic diversity adds to the peer environment, and the community context offers a mix of small‑city amenities and proximity to two major urban centers.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 9 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Science

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolJefferson 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-income35%Higher-income73%38 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income63%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income57%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income78%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income69%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income65%12 pp gap