The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Social studies. The lowest is 40% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Superior Middle
Superior Middle is the only public middle school serving grades six through eight in the Superior School District, a single-building campus that funnels every student in the district through the same doors before they move up to the high school. That makes the school environment straightforward: all community peers from the city's residential neighborhoods, the industrial waterfront, and the quieter inland streets meet in one building. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of students identifying as two or more races and very modest representation of Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and Asian students. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that gives the school a moderate level of economic diversity.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed in a pattern that families may want to weigh carefully. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or better runs around the midway mark in sixth and seventh grade and drops to a lower level in eighth grade. In math, the pattern is weaker overall. Math proficiency starts at a modest level in sixth grade, rises somewhat in seventh grade, then falls back in eighth grade. Science, tested only in eighth grade, shows about a modest share of students reaching proficiency, while social studies, also tested in eighth grade, posts a stronger result. When placed alongside the other school districts in Douglas County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom part of that small group. That is a signal worth examining: it does not mean the school lacks strong individual teachers or programs, but it does suggest that academic attainment across subjects and grades generally trails what nearby districts report.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Nor were data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access provided, so a family interested in those dimensions should ask the district for current numbers. Discipline data and special-population counts for students with IEPs and English learners were also absent from the available information, so that is another area to check directly with the school.
Housing in the area is reasonably priced relative to national benchmarks. Home values are below both the Wisconsin and national averages, and rents are similarly moderate. A family moving to Superior will find an industrial port city where the economy is anchored by refineries, rail yards, shipbuilding, and manufacturing. The built environment is car-dependent, with residential neighborhoods spreading out from the commercial corridor along Tower Avenue. The city has a public university and a technical college, giving older students a local postsecondary presence, and recreational assets such as Barker's Island and the large municipal forest offer outdoor options.
The district's most recent parent-relevant changes, such as referenda, curriculum shifts, or property tax adjustments, were not surfaced in web research. The absence of that information means a prospective parent should call the district office or attend a school board meeting to learn what is currently in motion budget-wise or programmatically. For a student entering sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, Superior Middle presents a single-entry-point public school experience in a working city with modest academic results on state tests and a straightforward demographic profile shaped by the community around it.
See more original research from School Decision →