Summary:
Bayfield School District No. 10Jt-R is home to a single high school, Bayfield High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 with an enrollment of 404 students. The school has held a steady 2-star rating for three consecutive years, ranking in the 35th–40th percentile among high schools statewide, while the district ranks 72nd out of 115 districts. Its graduation rate of 85.3% closely matches the state's 85.6%, and the dropout rate of 1.6% equals the state average. Free/reduced lunch eligibility stands at 34.4%, reflecting a moderate degree of economic diversity among families.
The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism: 51.1% of students missed enough school to be classified as chronically absent in 2024–25, nearly double the 28.4% state rate. This likely helps explain the academic struggles, particularly in mathematics, where only 13% of 11th graders scored proficient on the SAT—less than half the state average of 32%. Science proficiency is also below average at 18.3% versus 24.8%. However, there are bright spots: 9th and 10th graders outperform the state in PSAT reading and writing (69% and 73% vs. 66% and 65%), although 11th-grade SAT reading and writing drops to 47%, well below the state's 60%.
Scores swing significantly from year to year. Tenth-grade reading and writing jumped 19 percentage points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while 11th-grade SAT math fell by 13 points. The school enjoys a favorable 12.2:1 student-teacher ratio, meaning staffing is not the primary obstacle; attendance and maintaining academic momentum are. Students who show up perform well, especially in early high school literacy, but the steep decline through the upper grades suggests a need for stronger math instruction and engagement strategies. Reducing chronic absenteeism should be the top priority, as it likely has cascading effects on test scores, graduation outcomes, and overall student success.
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