Montello Junior/senior High, Montello WI

Original Research by School Decision on Montello Junior/senior High

Montello Junior/Senior High is a regular public school serving grades seven through twelve in the small rural city of Montello, the county seat of Marquette County. The school is part of the Montello School District, which covers the city and its surrounding area. The town itself has a compact downtown with a commercial historic district, parks, and lakeside recreation along the Fox River and nearby Buffalo Lake and Montello Lake. Once centered on granite quarrying, the former quarry now serves as a downtown park with waterfalls. The population has seen a modest decline in recent years, and the housing market is slow-growth, with home values below state benchmarks. For a family considering this area, the community offers a quiet, outdoor-oriented setting.

The school’s enrollment is small for a combined junior-senior high school, serving a student body that is predominantly white. Just over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support services.

Montello Junior/Senior High’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Marquette County, though the county has only two districts, so the comparison set is narrow. State testing results from the Forward assessment show a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In seventh grade, math proficiency was at a moderate level, while English language arts was lower. Eighth-grade students performed stronger in English language arts, with about half of students demonstrating proficiency, and in social studies, where a large majority of students met the bar. Eighth-grade science and math results were more moderate. Participation rates on the tests were very high, which adds reliability to the results. The school does not have high school state assessment data available for grades nine through twelve in this data, so the full secondary picture is incomplete. The graduation rate was also not reported here, which is notable for a school serving seniors; a family may wish to ask the school for that figure.

The school offers a standard academic pathway through grades seven to twelve on one campus, which can provide continuity for students. No information was available on advanced coursework, career and technical education pathways, dual enrollment, or extracurricular programs. The district has pursued operational referendums in recent years to sustain programming and staffing, with voters approving a recurring revenue limit override that runs through 2029. However, in 2022, voters rejected three separate capital bond referendums totaling a substantial sum that would have funded safety upgrades, HVAC and roof work, a new gymnasium, an agriculture and technology education wing, and ADA and fire safety improvements. This means significant facility needs remain unaddressed, and a parent should factor that into their evaluation of the school’s physical environment. In 2020, the district consolidated its elementary schools into a single PreK-6 building called Forest Lane Community School, streamlining that level into one location.

For families, Montello Junior/Senior High represents a small, rural combined secondary school with a student body that is predominantly white and economically diverse at a level above the state average. Academic results vary by subject and grade, with eighth-grade English language arts and social studies being relative strengths, while seventh-grade English language arts is an area where results are softer. The school sits in a quiet, slow-growth community with outdoor recreation assets, but the failed facility bonds point to infrastructure constraints that the district has not yet resolved. A parent moving to this area would benefit from talking directly with the school about graduation rates, course offerings at the high school level, and how the school addresses the facility limitations voters have chosen not to fund.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 37 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

528 schools plotted. 25 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 58% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 44% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 54% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median

Science

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 48% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

This schoolMontello 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-income12%Higher-income24%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income47%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income63%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income12%Higher-income24%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income59%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income50%19 pp gap