The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in Social studies. The lowest is 54% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rice Lake Middle
Rice Lake Middle School, a regular public school serving grades five through eight, sits within the Rice Lake Area School District. The school, which is not a charter, occupies a building on Cameron Road in the city of Rice Lake, a small city that functions as a regional hub for commerce, industry, education, and medical services in northwestern Wisconsin. The city itself, situated on the shore of Rice Lake and along the Red Cedar River, has a mix of residential neighborhoods, a compact downtown, and highway commercial areas. Civic institutions like the city hall, the public library, and multiple parks are distributed across the city rather than concentrated on a single campus. Higher education is present through a University of Wisconsin branch campus and a technical college. There is no recent district news of consequence that surfaced in searches, so this profile is based on the school's own data.
The school's enrollment is a manageable size for a middle school, with student numbers that taper somewhat from the lower grades to the upper grades. The student body is predominantly White, with a much smaller share of Hispanic students and an even smaller share of students who identify as two or more races; representation of other racial groups is very small. A substantial share of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a meaningful portion of families in the area are working with tighter household budgets. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or those classified as English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the availability of those programs and supports.
When it comes to academic performance on Wisconsin's Forward exam, the picture is mixed and varies by grade and subject. In mathematics, proficiency rates show noticeable variation from one grade to the next. One grade level saw a majority of students scoring proficient or above, another was close behind, while two others were more evenly divided between students who met the bar and those who did not. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: one grade turned in a solid majority, another grade also had a majority above the cut, but two grades showed a lower share of students reaching proficiency. In science, which is tested only in grade eight, a small majority of students scored proficient or above. In social studies, also tested in grade eight, the share of proficient students was above half. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Barron County, meaning it performs a bit better than the typical district in its county but is not at the very top. No graduation rate data is available because the school does not serve high school grades.
The school's setting in Rice Lake means families have access to a community that is essentially stable. Housing costs in the area are at a level that is somewhat lower than the statewide benchmark, and the local economy, anchored by a medical center, the school district itself, and the higher education campuses, does not appear to be undergoing rapid change. The town's population was steady enough at the last census, and the budget suggests a slow-growth, maintenance-oriented community rather than a booming one.
For a parent or resident, this is a school that is performing around the middle of the pack in its county, with some grade levels doing quite well and others where a parent might want to dig deeper into how the school is addressing areas where fewer students are meeting proficiency. The school serves a largely homogeneous student body in a small city that serves as a rural hub, and it offers no unusual designations like a magnet or charter program that would distinguish its academic model. A family considering this school should be comfortable with the community's character and should plan to ask about the school's approach to supporting students who are not yet at grade level, particularly in the grades where proficiency rates are lower.
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