Horace Mann Middle, Wausau WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Horace Mann Middle

Horace Mann Middle is a regular public school in Wausau, Wisconsin, serving grades six through eight as part of the Wausau School District. For a family looking at this school, the central picture is a mid-sized middle school where academic proficiency across tested subjects lands in a moderate range, and where the most consequential recent news for the district was a significant consolidation.

The school’s enrollment is substantial for a middle school spanning only three grades. Its racial and ethnic composition is predominantly White, with a notable Asian student population and smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Just under half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a middle ground economically.

On state assessments, Horace Mann’s results show a consistent pattern. In math, across grades six, seven, and eight, a little more than half of students scored at the proficient level or above. English language arts results were similar, with just over half of students meeting proficiency in each grade level. Eighth-grade science proficiency was also around the halfway mark. Social studies, tested only in eighth grade, had a somewhat higher share of students reaching proficiency. When placed relative to other districts in Marathon County, Horace Mann’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the group. Participation rates on all tests were high, which means the results reflect nearly the entire student body rather than a self-selected group.

Because Horace Mann is a middle school that does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, nor were data available on chronic absenteeism or discipline. The available data did not include counts of students with individualized education programs or English learners, though the school is a regular public school and such populations are typical in a district of this size. A parent may want to ask the school or district directly about special education and multilingual learner supports.

Wausau itself is the county seat of Marathon County and a regional hub in central Wisconsin. The city sits on the Wisconsin River and has a diversified economy rooted in manufacturing, insurance, paper, and healthcare. It has a significant Hmong American community. Housing values in the area are below the state median, and rents are moderate, which makes the area more affordable than many parts of Wisconsin. The city has a traditional downtown core with a redeveloped public square, a performing arts theater, and amenities like a whitewater kayak course and an art museum. The wider area includes suburban communities such as Weston and Rib Mountain that are more auto-oriented.

The most consequential development for families in the district is a major consolidation. As publicly reported, the district proposed closing roughly half of its elementary schools and shifting attendance boundaries. The district’s current website now lists fewer elementary schools than it did previously, which suggests the consolidation was carried out. This means feeder patterns into Horace Mann may have changed, and families moving into the area should verify which elementary schools now feed into this middle school and how that affects busing, neighborhood assignment, and school community.

For a family, Horace Mann presents as a straightforward, mid-sized public middle school with academic performance in a moderate band relative to its county peers. The school community is diverse but predominantly White, and the economic mix is broad. The district context is one of recent reorganization, so the stability of boundaries and the long-term trajectory of the school are worth looking into directly with the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 58% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 51% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 54% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 53% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 50% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 62%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolWausau 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-income30%Higher-income76%45 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income68%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income69%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income73%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income63%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income66%22 pp gap