Medford Middle, Medford WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Medford Middle

Medford Middle serves grades five through eight as a regular public school within the Medford Area Public School District, located on a shared campus on the east side of Medford. The city itself is a small county seat in Taylor County, with a traditional downtown core near the Black River and a school campus roughly a mile east. The area’s economy draws on healthcare, county government, and agriculture, including mink farming. Housing values in the area sit well below both the state and national benchmarks, and the school population is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state assessments, Medford Middle’s math proficiency follows a downward slope as students advance. In fifth grade, roughly half of students scored proficient or above. That share rose to roughly three-fifths in sixth grade before dropping back to about half in seventh and just under half in eighth grade. English language arts proficiency shows a similar pattern across the lower grades, with roughly two-fifths of fifth and sixth graders scoring proficient or above, rising to about half in seventh grade, then dropping sharply to under one-third in eighth grade. Eighth-grade science and social studies results are also on the softer side, with around two-fifths of students reaching proficiency in each subject. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages all tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint among the three districts in Taylor County, meaning roughly half of the county’s districts have higher average proficiency numbers.

Participation on the state assessments was complete across all tested grades and subjects. The school has a grade band that includes the tested years, so the results reflect nearly its entire student body. No chronic absenteeism data or graduation rate applies here, as the school does not serve high school grades. The district brief notes that the Medford Area Public School District operates a Rural Virtual Academy serving students across grade levels, offering a full-time online learning option for families who want an alternative to brick-and-mortar attendance. The district also established a set of strategic goals in 2023, signaling an active planning effort.

For a family considering this school, the academic picture is mixed. Proficiency in math runs above half in most grades but fades by eighth grade. English language arts is more uneven, with the eighth-grade drop a particular area a parent may want to look into further with the school. The school’s overall standing relative to other Taylor County districts is below the middle, so parents comparing options within the county should weigh that context. The community itself is a stable, small-town setting with a modest cost of housing, a walking and biking trail in the Pine Line Trail, and a civic core anchored by county government and a hospital. The school shares a campus with the elementary and high schools, which may be convenient for families with children across multiple grade levels. The district’s virtual academy provides another pathway for families who decide the traditional middle school setting is not the right fit.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 53% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 54% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 48% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 52% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 35% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median

Science

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 42% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

This schoolMedford Area Public 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 5Lower-income41%Higher-income50%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income51%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income53%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income38%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income62%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income65%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income60%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income52%11 pp gap