Indian Mound Middle, Mcfarland WI

Original Research by School Decision on Indian Mound Middle

Indian Mound Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade in McFarland, a village on Lake Waubesa just southeast of Madison. McFarland functions primarily as a bedroom community for the capital, with a traditional downtown, a public library, a network of parks, and water-based recreation on the Yahara River system. The village has been growing steadily and its school district now reports full enrollment across all grades, a shift that signals increased demand and may be relevant for families weighing when to enter the district.

The middle school itself is a regular public school, one of four buildings in the McFarland School District, and sits adjacent to a registered school forest that contains historic Native American burial mounds. The school’s student body is predominantly white, with a smaller but present share of students who identify as Hispanic, two or more races, or Asian. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state assessments, Indian Mound Middle posts results that place its overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades in the top quarter of districts in Dane County, a comparison that includes the many higher- and lower-performing systems in this large county. Looked at subject by subject and grade by grade, the pattern is solid but uneven. In math, sixth grade proficiency sits in the low to middle range, seventh grade is slightly below that, and eighth grade is noticeably stronger. In English language arts, the same general shape appears: sixth and eighth grade results are higher, while seventh grade dips. In science, tested only in eighth grade, the proficiency rate is strong, and in social studies, tested only in eighth grade, it is even stronger. The school’s participation rates on these tests were very high, which means the results reflect nearly all enrolled students and give a reliable picture of current performance.

The eighth grade scores stand out, particularly in social studies and science, but the seventh grade numbers in both math and English language arts are a soft spot. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how the curriculum or support structure shifts across the middle school years, or whether a cohort effect accounts for the dip.

The school had no data available for chronic absenteeism or for the share of students with an individualized education program or who are English learners, so there is no way to assess learning support caseload from the numbers alone. That kind of information is often important for families deciding whether a school can meet a particular child’s needs, and the absence leaves a gap. The school also reported no discipline data, so the character of school climate is not measured here.

Because Indian Mound Middle serves only grades six through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. That is a function of its grade band, not a reflection on outcomes. Families looking ahead to high school will want to examine McFarland High School’s own data, including its own test scores, course pathways, and graduation rate.

On programming, the school’s website may list specific elective offerings, music and arts opportunities, and extracurriculars, but those were not present in the data provided here. Given the district’s full enrollment and the community’s steady growth, the middle school is likely to be a stable choice for families who live within the boundary and value a school that serves primarily one town’s children, with a straightforward feeder pattern from the district’s primary and intermediate schools up into its high school. The academic picture is strongest in the final middle school year, and the school’s position relative to others in Dane County confirms a generally above-average standing.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 52% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 42% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 39% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 57% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 759%

School 59% · District 48% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 52% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 44% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 883%

School 83% · District 55% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

This schoolMcFarland 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-income39%Higher-income73%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income67%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income71%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income74%32 pp gap

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

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income79%12 pp gap