Summary:
Cumberland, Wisconsin is home to four public schools in the Cumberland School District: Cumberland Elementary (PK–4), Cumberland Middle (5–8), Cumberland High (9–12), and Island City Virtual Academy, an alternative virtual school serving PK–12. Together they enroll 924 students — 875 in the three traditional schools and 49 in the virtual academy. The district is rated 2 stars and ranks 258 of 432 in Wisconsin, yet its graduation rate of 95.8% and dropout rate of 0.0% beat state figures, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 5.3% is far below the state's 17.3%.
Among the traditional schools, Cumberland Elementary posts the strongest academic profile: ranked in the 69th percentile with 3 stars, averaging 65.25% proficiency (above the state in every reported subject), with the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.7) and highest per-student spending ($18,069) among the traditional schools. Cumberland Middle also earned 3 stars (61st percentile) and has the lowest chronic absenteeism of the traditional schools at 2.4%, with standout 8th grade social studies (71.43%) and science (58.93%). Cumberland High (3 stars, 55th percentile) graduates 95.3% of students and beats the state in ACT math and science, but its ELA proficiency of 42.47% trails the state's 48.47% and its chronic absenteeism of 10.8% is more than double the district rate. Island City Virtual Academy reports a 100% graduation rate, 0.0% dropout, and 0.0% chronic absenteeism, but with only 49 students and proficiency averaging 16.67%, its figures are not directly comparable.
All three traditional schools improved their rank percentile from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 — Elementary from 40 to 69, Middle from 37 to 61, and High from 51 to 55 — suggesting school-level performance is stronger than the district's 2-star summary implies. Parents weighing options should note that Cumberland Elementary combines the highest free/reduced lunch rate among traditional schools (49.4%) with the best test scores, while the high school's main areas to watch are ELA and attendance.
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