Summary:
Zip code 96786 contains two public middle schools, both serving grades 6–8 and both part of the Hawaii Department of Education, the state's single statewide district. Major Sheldon Wheeler Middle School enrolls 729 students, and Wahiawa Middle School enrolls 694 — only about 5% smaller. Because Hawaii has one district, district rankings do not distinguish these schools; the school-level numbers do.
Major Sheldon Wheeler Middle School is the standout, ranking 5th of 85 Hawaii middle schools in 2025–2026 at the 94th percentile with 5 stars. Its proficiency rates were 68% in English language arts, 59% in math, and 69% in science. Wahiawa Middle School ranks 37th of 85 at the 56th percentile with 3 stars, with proficiency of 48% in ELA, 35% in math, and 43% in science. Wahiawa is improving — its rank rose from 45th of 89 and its percentile from 49 to 56 — but Wheeler still leads by roughly 20 to 26 points in every subject.
The biggest non-test difference is attendance: chronic absenteeism is 9.0% at Wheeler versus 25.0% at Wahiawa, meaning about 1 in 4 Wahiawa students misses school chronically. Wahiawa also serves a much more economically disadvantaged population, with 64.41% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch versus 38.82% at Wheeler. Despite that, Wahiawa spent more per student in 2018–2019 ($16,644 versus $15,239), and the two schools have nearly identical student-teacher ratios (15.4 and 15.6). Math is the weakest subject at both schools, and while the ELA and math gaps narrowed this year, the science gap widened from 15 to 26 points as Wheeler's science proficiency jumped 10 points.
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