Best Public Schools in Marshall, WI

Marshall, Wisconsin has four public schools serving PK–12 students in the Marshall School District: Marshall High (grades 9–12, 281 students), Marshall Early Learning Center (PK–2, 251), Marshall Elementary (PK–6, 246), and Marshall Middle (7–8, 128). Total enrollment is 906. The district is rated 358th of 432 Wisconsin districts, in the 17th percentile with 1 star, but the three ranked schools show mostly 2 stars in 2025–2026, and the high school briefly reached 3 stars in 2024–2025. The PK–2 school has no state test or rank data.

The high school has strong completion: 93.5% graduation and 0.0% dropout, above district and state. ACT ELA is above state both years, but 2025–2026 ACT math (30.51%) and science (32.2%) are below state, and chronic absenteeism is highest in the city at 19.6%. The middle school has the highest rank percentile, 44th, with strong 8th-grade social studies, science, and math, but very low 7th-grade ELA (28%) and math (30%); it also has the lowest student-teacher ratio, 11.2. The elementary school has the best attendance, 13.8% chronic absenteeism, and is above state in 4 of 10 tested subjects, including 4th-grade ELA, math, and social studies and 6th-grade ELA; 3rd-grade math is below state. The PK–2 school has no test data, 17.8% absenteeism, 43.43% free/reduced lunch, $16,069 per-student spending, and an 11.8 ratio.

Across the city, per-student spending ranges from $16,069 to $17,513, student-teacher ratios are consistent at 11.2–11.8, and free/reduced lunch ranges from 34.88% to 45.93%. Three of four schools exceed the state chronic absenteeism rate of 17.3%; only the elementary school is below it. Resource allocation does not align neatly with poverty: the high school has the lowest free/reduced lunch rate but the highest spending, while the elementary school has the highest poverty indicator but lower spending. Test scores are volatile year to year, especially in middle school: 7th-grade ELA fell from 66.15% to 28%, 8th-grade science rose from 36.54% to 61.54%, and high school science fell from 51.52% to 32.2%. Parents should note the district rating is lower than current school-level ratings, and the PK–2 school should be compared separately.