Summary:
Rhinelander School District has one middle school, James Williams Middle, serving 454 students in grades 6–8 in Rhinelander, WI. Because it is the district’s only middle school, district and school results are nearly identical. In 2024–2025, 46.48% of students were eligible for free/reduced lunch, per-student spending was $17,237, and the student-teacher ratio was 12.2. The dropout rate was 0.0%, and chronic absenteeism was 13.9%—below the state’s 17.3% but slightly above the district’s 12.8%.
Academically, the clearest bright spot is 8th grade Social Studies: 67.3% proficient in 2025–2026, above the district’s 66.88% and the state’s 64.63%, and the only tested area above the state average that year. It also rose from 45.99% the prior year, a +21.31-point gain. 8th grade ELA improved from 32.12% to 44.65% (+12.53 points) but remains 9.73 points below the state. 7th grade Math reversed from a standout 60.38% in 2024–2025—above the state’s 55.53%—to 51.16% in 2025–2026, now 4.51 points below the state. The lowest areas are 6th grade ELA (38.76%) and Math (39.53%), roughly 14–16 points below state averages. The school is slightly above the district in every 2025–2026 tested area but below the state everywhere except 8th grade Social Studies.
Rank history shows a modest rebound: the school moved from the 41st percentile in 2023–2024, down to 29th in 2024–2025, then up to 33rd in 2025–2026, with ratings of 2 stars, 1 star, and 2 stars. Its 2025–2026 school rank is 431 of 643 (33rd percentile, 2 stars), while the district ranks 292 of 432 (32nd percentile, 2 stars). For parents, the main takeaway is that this single middle school has strong recent gains in 8th grade Social Studies and ELA, but still trails the state in most ELA, Math, and Science measures, with 6th grade and 7th grade Math as areas to watch.
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