Best Public Schools in Barron, WI

Barron, Wisconsin is served by three public schools in the Barron Area School District — Woodland Elementary (PK–4), Riverview Middle (5–8), and Barron High (9–12) — educating 916 students combined. District-wide, the Barron Area School District ranks 392 out of 432 Wisconsin districts, in the 9th percentile with 0 stars, but that single number hides very different results from school to school.

Woodland Elementary is the bright spot, and the only Barron school rated 2 stars in 2025–2026. It sits at the 47th percentile (553 of 1,039), a big jump from the 21st percentile and 1 star the year before, and it scored above the district average in every reported subject and grade. Its 3rd grade results are especially strong — ELA at 63.79% proficient and math at 70.69%, both well above district and state — while 4th grade results are more mixed and mostly below state. Chronic absenteeism is just 7.2%, the lowest in the area. Barron High shows a sharp split: a 98.5% graduation rate and 0.3% dropout rate, both better than the state, but test proficiency far below state in every subject, including math at 23.61% versus 42.93% statewide. Riverview Middle has held steady around the 29th percentile with 1 star across three years, a 0.0% dropout rate, and uneven results — 6th grade math is above state and 8th grade math is essentially at state, while 7th grade ELA and math fall far below it.

For parents comparing options, attendance is a relative strength here: all three schools beat the state's 17.3% chronic absenteeism rate, though Barron High's 15.6% is noticeably higher than Woodland's 7.2% and above the district's 10.9%. Spending does not track neatly with results — Barron High spends the most per student ($19,795) with the highest student–teacher ratio (12.8) yet posts the weakest proficiency, while Woodland spends less ($18,763) with a lower ratio (10.8). Woodland also has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (64.81%) and the strongest outcomes. Year-to-year swings are large, so single-year scores should be read with caution.