Sennett Middle, Madison WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sennett Middle

Sennett Middle is a regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Madison Metropolitan School District on the east side of the city. It is not a charter or magnet school, and its student body, largely from the surrounding neighborhoods, reflects the diversity of the city itself. Those demographics show a school where no single racial or ethnic group holds a majority, with a large Hispanic population and substantial shares of Black, white, and multiracial students. About half of the students come from households with low enough income to qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a rate that is far from the highest in the district but marks Sennett as a school serving a significant population of students from economically modest backgrounds.

The school participates in Wisconsin’s Forward Exam for state testing, and the results from the most recent year give a clear picture of an academic environment that is working to raise student achievement. Across grades six, seven, and eight, the share of students scoring at or above proficiency on the math exam was below the majority mark in every grade, and it declined as the grade level increased, from roughly one in three students meeting the bar in sixth grade to roughly one in four in eighth grade. English language arts proficiency followed a similar pattern, with a bit more than a third of students meeting the mark across the middle school grades. In eighth grade science, about one in three students were proficient, while in social studies, just above two in five students met the proficiency standard. When the data provider compared Sennett's overall proficiency index against other schools in Dane County, it landed in the bottom quartile—a signal that academic performance here, at the aggregate level, is lower than at many of the county's other middle schools. A parent considering Sennett will want to look into the specific supports the school offers for students who need extra help in math and reading, and to ask about how the school is addressing this pattern.

The school environment data does not include information on discipline, course access, attendance, or staffing, so that part of the picture is incomplete. These are important categories for a middle school, and a parent should ask the school directly about class sizes, any Advanced or honors coursework available in middle school, and what systems are in place to keep students on track.

Madison itself is a growing, fast-changing city. The downtown and campus form a continuous urban core on the isthmus between two lakes, and the economy is shaped by the university, state government, healthcare, technology, and agribusiness. The city is widely known for its bike paths, parks, and farmers markets, and it has been the fastest-growing city in the state, with a 2022 annexation expanding its boundaries. Housing in the zip code serving Sennett is priced above both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly high relative to incomes, which places considerable pressure on area households. Growth in the city means the east side schools, including Sennett, are serving a changing community, but the district brief did not turn up specific parent-relevant information on new school building construction or other facility investments for this school in recent years, so that is a gap a parent may want to fill by contacting the district directly.

Overall, Sennett is a diverse, urban middle school situated in a dynamic and growing state capital, but its state test results indicate that a majority of students in each grade are not yet meeting proficiency in math, English, or science. The absence of data on course access and attendance leaves open questions about the day-to-day academic environment and student engagement. For a family that values the diversity and progressive character of Madison and wants to be actively involved in supporting the school through a period of work on student achievement, Sennett could be a good fit. For a family looking for a school where high proficiency rates are already the established pattern, the numbers here may suggest looking further into the specific program options and intervention strategies the school provides.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 45% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 42% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 50% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 49% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 52% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 48% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 60% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

This schoolMadison Metropolitan 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-income19%Higher-income60%42 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income56%45 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income66%49 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income61%40 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income51%33 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income50%39 pp gap