Black River Falls High

Black River Falls High is a public high school serving grades 9–12 in Black River Falls, WI, with 500 students. It is part of the Black River Falls School District, which ranks in the 6th percentile statewide. The high school itself ranked 393 of 533 Wisconsin schools in 2025–2026 — the 26th percentile, or 1 star — a real improvement from the 6th percentile in 2023–2024 and 16th percentile in 2024–2025, though it still trails Melrose-Mindoro Junior/Senior High (37th percentile) and Lincoln Junior/Senior High School (32nd percentile) and sits only slightly ahead of Blair-Taylor Middle/High (21st).

Attendance and completion are the clearest contrasts with neighbors. The graduation rate of 92.3% is just above the state's 92.0%, but the dropout rate is 2.6% — more than double the state's 1.1% — and chronic absenteeism is 28.4% versus the state's 17.3%. Nearby schools report far lower absenteeism, including Melrose-Mindoro at 6.5% and Lincoln at 8.2%. Academically, 10th graders were below state averages in all four subjects tested, with mathematics the largest gap: 23.36% proficient versus 42.93% statewide. That math result is also the lowest among the four comparison schools.

Results differ by student group. Special education students rank near the state median at the 49th percentile — well above the school overall — while Native American students rank 19 of 19 at the 0 percentile, and low-income and White students fall in the low 20s. About 49.8% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, per-student spending is the lowest in the group at $15,442, and the student-teacher ratio is the highest at 15.7, up from 13.0 in 2023–2024. Overall, the school is improving but still in the bottom quartile, with engagement and math as the biggest areas to watch.