Prairie River Middle, Merrill WI

Original Research by School Decision on Prairie River Middle

Prairie River Middle serves grades five through eight in Merrill, Wisconsin, as part of the Merrill Area School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits in a small city that is the county seat of Lincoln County. Merrill is a former logging town that has diversified into manufacturing, insurance, and small-town residential life, with employers like Church Mutual Insurance, Weinbrenner Shoe Company, and various wood-products firms. The city offers a compact historic downtown, an on-demand bus system, and access to outdoor recreation at Council Grounds State Park.

The school's enrollment is spread across four grade levels, with a slightly larger cohort in eighth grade. The student body is heavily white, with small shares of students identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, or Asian. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

State testing results from the Wisconsin Forward assessment show a clear upward trend as students progress through the grade span. In math, proficiency rates rise steadily from fifth grade through eighth grade, with the eighth-grade rate notably higher than the fifth-grade rate. A similar pattern appears in English language arts, where the share of students meeting the proficient threshold improves across grades five through eight. In science, only eighth graders are tested, and the proficiency rate lands in a similar range. Social studies, also tested only in eighth grade, shows the highest proficiency rate of any subject at that grade level. Compared with other districts in Lincoln County, Prairie River Middle's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile of the small cohort. Because this comparison set includes only a few districts, a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how these results compare with expectations and what supports are in place.

The school does not serve high school grades, so it has no graduation rate. Course access data, staffing information, and chronic absenteeism rates were not available in the data provided, so a parent may wish to ask the school directly about class sizes, teacher qualifications, and student attendance patterns.

Merrill's population has been slowly declining in recent years, and the Merrill Area School District has experienced a steady enrollment decline over a period of several years. This district-wide trend may influence class sizes, program offerings, and staffing decisions across the district's schools. Housing values in the area are lower than the state median, and the cost of living is relatively affordable, with a mix of historic homes, new construction, apartments, and subsidized housing.

Prairie River Middle sits in a community with a walkable downtown core and schools integrated into the city fabric rather than on a separated campus. The district's enrollment decline and the school's proficiency results, particularly in the earlier middle-school grades, are factors a family exploring this school would want to discuss directly with the building to understand current programming and student support.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 30% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 38% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 851%

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

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 34% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 40% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 46% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 50% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Science

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 45% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 61% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

This schoolMerrill Area 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-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income27%Higher-income37%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income52%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income52%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income33%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income17%Higher-income49%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income53%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income66%35 pp gap