The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in English language arts. The lowest is 53% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Worland Middle School
Worland Middle School sits on the outskirts of Worland, a small city that serves as the county seat of Washakie County and a regional hub for the Big Horn Basin. The town's economy runs on agriculture, oil and gas, and manufacturing, with employers like Admiral Beverage, Wyoming Sugar Company, and Crown Cork & Seal anchoring the local job base. Downtown Worland clusters along Big Horn Avenue between the county courthouse and local shops, but the schools sit on separated campuses spread across the city, and the middle school is well removed from that civic core. The Big Horn River traces the western edge of town, and a paved greenway trail follows it for walking and biking.
The school serves grades six through eight with a total enrollment that is small for a middle school, reflecting Worland's modest population. The student body is predominantly white, with a sizable Hispanic minority and a scattering of students identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native or as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a working-class enrollment. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here. Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap reflects the grade band rather than anything about school performance.
On Wyoming's WY-TOPP assessment, results tell a mixed story. English language arts is the stronger subject across all three grades. A clear majority of sixth and seventh graders reached proficiency, with seventh grade posting the highest rate, and eighth grade remained above the halfway mark. Math results are more uneven. Sixth and seventh grade landed just above the proficiency midpoint, while eighth grade dipped below it. Eighth-grade science, the only science grade tested at this level, sat near the midpoint. Participation was essentially full across nearly every grade and subject. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Washakie County. That comparison set is small, just two districts, and the school sits below both on this composite measure. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly the eighth-grade math dip, to understand what is driving the slide and what supports are available.
Several categories of information that would help round out the picture are simply absent. No chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing data was available, so questions about school climate, teacher experience, and program offerings cannot be answered from what was provided. The district brief turned up no confirmed parent-relevant changes within the last span, so there is little to report on recent shifts in curriculum, facilities, or policy at the district level.
Housing in Worland is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks. The typical home value sits well below both the Wyoming and national medians, and the price-to-income ratio is favorable, meaning a family earning the area's median income would find homeownership more attainable here than in much of the country. The housing market has been appreciating, with the typical home value rising at a rate that outpaces both the state and national year-over-year changes, though from a low base. No large-scale housing developments are underway, and the city's population has shown only modest recovery after a long decline.
For a family weighing Worland Middle School, the picture is one of a small, rural middle school with solid reading results, middling math performance that softens by eighth grade, and a working-class peer environment in an affordable community. The missing climate and staffing data means a visit or a call to the school would be the next step for any parent wanting to understand what the day-to-day experience is like.
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