Summary:
Merton Community School District is a small PK–8 district in Hartland, Wisconsin, serving 894 students across just two schools — Merton Primary (grades PK–4, 526 students) and Merton Intermediate (grades 5–8, 368 students) — with no high school. Statewide, the district itself ranks 3rd of 432 Wisconsin districts, placing it in the 99th percentile with 5 stars.
Both schools are among the best in the state. Merton Primary ranks 14th of 1,039 elementary schools, up from 30th three years earlier, while Merton Intermediate ranks 6th of 643 middle schools and has remained in the top 7 for three straight years. Both hold 5-star, 99th-percentile ratings. Every reported 2025–2026 test score at both schools is at least 80% proficient, averaging about 85.78% at Primary and 86.33% at Intermediate, compared with roughly 55% statewide. The standout scores are 93.10% in 8th grade math and 92.59% in 3rd grade math. Year over year, Primary's overall average rose about 2.53 points and Intermediate's about 1.59 points, though a few individual grades dipped slightly.
Day-to-day indicators are strong as well. Chronic absenteeism is 4.9% at both schools — the same as the district rate and far below the state's 17.3%. Free or reduced lunch sits at about 5.7%. Merton Intermediate spends $13,592 per student with a 13.8:1 student–teacher ratio, while Merton Primary spends $12,082 with a 14.5:1 ratio. Intermediate reports a 0.0% dropout rate versus 1.1% statewide. One caveat for parents: year-to-year test changes reflect different student groups, and the district has no high school data to show longer-term outcomes.
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