Shullsburg Junior High, Shullsburg WI

Original Research by School Decision on Shullsburg Junior High

Shullsburg Junior High is a small regular public school serving grades six through eight in the Shullsburg School District. It is housed in a Romanesque limestone structure built more than a century ago, located on Judgement Street within the compact historic town of Shullsburg in southwest Wisconsin’s Driftless Area. The school sits at the center of a community that has been slowly losing population since the lead mines closed decades ago, with a commercial core now focused on heritage tourism and local cheese production. Housing in the zip code is priced well below both the Wisconsin and national benchmarks, making the area comparatively affordable for families.

The student body is small and predominantly white, with a noticeable Hispanic minority. More than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a standard indicator of economic need at the school level. The school did not report data on the share of students with disabilities or those classified as English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

State testing results from the Wisconsin Forward exam show a mixed picture. In English language arts, roughly half of seventh graders scored at or above the proficiency benchmark, with sixth and eighth graders coming in somewhat lower. In math, proficiency was weakest among sixth graders and strongest among seventh graders, with eighth graders in between. Eighth grade science results were the most challenging area, with a very small share of students reaching proficiency, and eighth grade social studies results were not much higher. When compared to other districts in Lafayette County, Shullsburg’s combined proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quartile. That comparison set includes only seven districts, so the range is narrow, and the school’s position is at the lower end of a small group.

Because the school serves only middle grades, it has no graduation rate to report, and the data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, course access, or staffing metrics. A parent interested in how Shullsburg Junior High supports students through the transition to high school or what elective and enrichment options exist in these grades would need to look further into the district’s programming.

What the available evidence makes clear is that this is a very small school in a rural community with a historically rich but economically modest setting. The academic results are below those of neighboring districts in several tested areas, particularly in science and social studies. Families considering this school should weigh the benefits of a tight-knit, small-town environment against the academic challenges the data reveals. The school’s participation rates on state tests were complete, which at least indicates full engagement with the assessments. Whether the school is a good fit depends on what a family prioritizes, and the test scores suggest a parent would want to ask about academic support, course rigor, and how the school is working to address the performance gaps that show up in the state data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 29 pts below state median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 22 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 52%

even with state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Science

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 35 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 35 pts below state median

This schoolShullsburg 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-income27%Higher-income67%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income55%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income41%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income44%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income50%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income29%1 pp gap