Summary:
Two high schools serve students in the Northland Pines School District: Northland Pines Middle and High School, which covers grades 7–12 with 543 students, and School of Options and Applied Research High, which serves grades 9–12 with 65 students. Together they enroll 608 students. The district as a whole ranks 190 of 432, at the 56th percentile with 3 stars, but that middle-of-the-pack rating hides two schools moving in very different directions.
Northland Pines Middle and High School is the clear standout. It earned 4 stars in all three years of rank history — 93 of 533 (83rd percentile) in 2025–26, 98 of 431 (77th) in 2024–25, and 86 of 431 (80th) in 2023–24 — placing it consistently in the top fifth of ranked Wisconsin high schools. Its 2025–26 ACT results beat both district and state in every subject: ELA 59.76%, Mathematics 54.88%, and Science 57.32%, with Science more than 14 points above the state. Graduation is 98.0% and dropout 0.0%. Its weaker spots are the middle grades: 7th-grade Math 39.68%, 8th-grade Science 34.25%, and 8th-grade Social Studies 47.95%, all well below state averages. Chronic absenteeism is 16.9%, slightly below the state's 17.3%.
School of Options and Applied Research High stands out as the contrast: 1 star and 16th percentile in 2025–26 (450 of 533), with very low ACT results — ELA 22.73%, Mathematics 9.09%, Science 31.82%. Yet it reports a 96.7% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout, both better than the state. Chronic absenteeism is 27.0%, nearly double the district's 13.7%. It also has higher free/reduced lunch (56.92% vs 37.75%), lower per-student spending ($14,999 vs $18,536), and a higher student-teacher ratio (17.1 vs 13). With only 65 students, its percentages shift easily from year to year, and its grades 9–12 span means middle-grade results apply only to Northland Pines.
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