Bruce High

Bruce High is a small rural high school in Bruce, Wisconsin, serving about 116 students in grades 9–12 — roughly 25 to 30 per graduating class — and it is essentially the entire secondary footprint of the Bruce School District. Its profile looks contradictory: the district ranks near the bottom of Wisconsin's accountability ratings (11th percentile, 1 star), yet Bruce High has matched or beaten the state graduation rate in four of the last five reported years, including 96.9% in 2023-24 and 92.1% in 2024-25.

On tests, the school is now close to statewide norms. In 2025-26, 10th graders were near state levels in all four tested subjects (50% proficient in social studies vs. 48% statewide, 44% in English language arts, 40% in math and science), following a 2024-25 year when Bruce beat the state in ELA, math, and science. Chronic absenteeism (15.9%) is below the state's 17.3%. Among nearby schools, Bruce outperforms Ladysmith High (9.6 miles away) in math, science, and social studies with a higher graduation rate and smaller classes, and beats Holcombe High on most subjects with less than half the absenteeism. Flambeau High scores higher in several subjects but graduates fewer students. Birchwood High, a 5-star school, outperforms Bruce across the board — but spends 79% more per student to serve half as many.

Two things to watch: results swing widely year to year because each student counts for 3–4 percentage points, and a notable gap exists between female students (64th percentile) and male students (23rd percentile). Attendance also worsened from 7.6% to 15.9% in one year. Overall, Bruce High is a lean, efficient school whose graduation and attendance results are stronger than its district rating suggests.