The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Social studies. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Marinette Middle
Marinette Middle serves students in fifth through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Marinette School District. The school is located in the city of Marinette, a small industrial city on the south bank of the Menominee River at its mouth on Green Bay, closely linked to Menominee, Michigan by three bridges. Marinette’s economy is anchored by diversified manufacturing including a shipyard, a paper mill, and plants that produce fire protection equipment and automotive parts. The city has seen a long-term population decline from its historic peak, and a significant recent development is the end of in-person instruction at the local UW-Green Bay campus, though the campus continues to be used by the university. The district itself has no major recent changes that meet the standard for reporting here.
The school’s student body of approximately 540 is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, multiracial, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian students. Just over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need. The school serves all four middle-grade levels in roughly even distribution, with the sixth and eighth grade groups being slightly larger than the fifth and seventh.
On the state’s Forward assessments, proficiency rates varied by grade and subject. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or advanced ranged from just above a quarter in fifth grade to just over forty percent in seventh grade, with rates in the low to mid thirty percent range for sixth and eighth grade. English language arts results followed a similar pattern: rates were just above thirty percent in fifth grade, climbed to just over forty percent in sixth and seventh grades, and dipped back to the mid thirty percent range for eighth graders. Science, tested only in eighth grade, saw just over forty percent of students reach proficiency. Social studies, also tested only in eighth grade, saw a slightly higher share, approaching half of students. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Marinette County, a comparison set of eight districts.
A few specific observations stand out. The share of students reaching proficiency in math and reading is notably higher in sixth and seventh grades than in fifth and eighth, a pattern a parent may want to ask the school about. Participation rates were very high, above ninety-eight percent in every tested grade, which means the results give a reliable picture of student performance rather than reflecting a selective test-taker group. The school performs somewhat stronger in social studies than in other subjects, though still below the county median. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access, so a full picture of the school environment and support structures is not possible from this information.
Housing costs in the area sit noticeably below the national benchmark and well below the state average, reflecting the region’s more affordable market. The typical home value in the area has seen a moderate increase over the past year. The national unemployment rate is in the low single digits, and the mortgage rate environment has been relatively stable in recent quarters, offering some context for families evaluating a move to the area.
For a family considering Marinette Middle, the picture is of a school serving a modest-sized group of students in a district with no major recent upheavals, located in a city with an industrial economic base and a long history of slow population decline. Academic performance on state assessments trails the county norm, which a parent weighing options would want to investigate further by talking with the school about instruction and support. The school does not have charters, magnet programs, or a publicly reported set of special offerings, so academic variety may be limited to what the district provides.
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