Barneveld Middle School

Barneveld Middle School is a small public school in the rural Village of Barneveld in southwest Wisconsin that serves grades 6–8 with about 96 students as part of the Barneveld School District. It is the smallest middle school in its local comparison group, and stands out for low poverty (13.54% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch), very low chronic absenteeism (5.2%, far below the state's 17.3%), and the lowest student-teacher ratio nearby at 9:1. Per-student spending is $15,100, on the lower end of nearby districts.

Academically, the picture is mixed. Sixth- and seventh-grade math are the school's strongest results — 71.05 and 76.47 proficiency, above state by 17.45 and 20.80 points — but eighth-grade math fell to 50.00, below state and below every nearby school except Dodgeville Middle. ELA, science, and social studies are weaker: all are at or near the bottom of the nearby group, with social studies (53.85 vs. state 64.63) and science (42.31 vs. 51.86) the lowest nearby. Overall, the school's rank has slipped from the low 80s percentile in 2022–23 and 2023–24 to 64th in 2024–25 and 53rd in 2025–26 — above only Dodgeville among nearby schools, while New Glarus Middle (95), Glacier Creek Middle (94), Mount Horeb Middle (84), Wisconsin Heights Middle (73), Badger Ridge Middle (69), and Mineral Point Middle (58) rank higher.

Two patterns are worth watching. First, results are uneven by group: low-income students rank at the 74th percentile (4 stars), a clear strength, but male students have fallen to the 43rd percentile (2 stars) from 78th in 2023–24, widening a gap with female students (60th percentile). Second, the reported 1.6% dropout rate is above the district and state (1.1%) and above every nearby school, though it contrasts sharply with the school's strong attendance. With only about 30 students per grade, a few students can move results by 10 points or more, so single-year swings may reflect cohort effects rather than a lasting trend.