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Central Middle

Q: Is Central Middle a good school?

Central Middle ranks 429 th of 643 Wisconsin middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

429^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 643 Wisconsin Middle Schools

Better than 33% of Wisconsin middle schools

Summary

Central Middle is a grades 6–8 school in Hartford, WI, serving 419 students as part of the Hartford J1 School District, and it ranked 429th of 643 Wisconsin middle schools in 2025–2026 — the 33rd percentile with 2 stars. That marks a long slide: Central Middle sat in the 60th–68th percentile from 2015–2016 through 2018–2019, was still at the 63rd percentile in 2020–2021, and has fallen every year since (47th, 42nd, 37th, 34th, 33rd). It has been a 2-star school every year since 2021–2022.

Compared with nearby middle schools, Central Middle is an outlier. Slinger Middle ranks at the 96th percentile, Merton Intermediate at the 99th, North Shore Middle at the 98th, Templeton Middle at the 94th, and Kennedy Middle at the 71st — all well above Central's 33rd. Central also has the highest chronic absenteeism of these schools at 26.1%, against a nearby range of 2.3%–12.1% and a state rate of 17.3%, and the highest free/reduced-lunch rate at 39.38%. Yet it spends $15,897 per student, more than many neighbors, with a student-teacher ratio of 12.8, lower than most. Those resources have not yet shown up in results.

Grade-level scores reveal a slide through middle school. Sixth grade is a relative bright spot: ELA proficiency (55.56%) is close to the state's 54.95%, and math (56.25%) is above the state's 53.6%. By 8th grade the gaps are wide — ELA 37.68% vs. 54.38% statewide, math 43.48% vs. 53.67%, science 36.23% vs. 51.86%, and social studies 50.72% vs. 64.63%. Results also vary by student group: the school's statewide effectiveness ranking for African American students is strong (16th of 125, 87th percentile, 4 stars), while low-income students rank at the 16th percentile, down sharply from the low 30s in the two prior years.

419

Students ?

12.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,897

Per pupil spending ?

39.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

1100 Cedar St
Hartford, WI 53027-2347

(262) 673-8040

District: Hartford J1 School District

Students who attend Central Middle usually attend:

High:

Hartford High

Feeder schools for Central Middle:

Elementary:	Lincoln Elementary
	Rossman Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

78.5%

Hispanic:

13.6%

African American:

3.1%

See top rated Wisconsin middle schools

Compare Central Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 67th percentile in 2016 → 33rd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (48% vs 56% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (26% vs 17% Wisconsin)

!Ranking has slipped — down 34 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school48%

District avg48%

Wisconsin avg56%

429^th of 643

Wisconsin public middle schools ?

Bottom 33%▼ down 33 pts since 2016

From top 33% (2016) to bottom 33% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

192^nd of 432Hartford J1 School District among Wisconsin districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	40.4	429 of 643	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.9	413 of 628	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.5	405 of 641	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.2	369 of 640	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.8	329 of 617	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	60.2	229 of 613	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.1	192 of 594	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.1	222 of 579	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	57.2	247 of 612	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	62.8	204 of 609	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	60.3	248 of 612	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2014	55.4	294 of 585	49.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	53.7	309 of 569	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2012	68.1	159 of 559	71.6%	★★★★☆
2011	67.2	159 of 549	71.0%	★★★★☆
2010	64.0	203 of 539	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	69.3	138 of 521	73.5%	★★★★☆
2008	63.5	194 of 519	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2007	65.7	146 of 366	60.1%	★★★☆☆
2006	64.7	166 of 382	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2005	58.7	187 of 332	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2004	58.9	177 of 324	45.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	79.6	16 of 125	87.2%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	30.9	131 of 169	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.7	156 of 178	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	39.8	102 of 173	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.8	52 of 170	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	25.2	145 of 158	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	64.2	20 of 138	85.5%	★★★★☆
2019	42.3	83 of 153	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.9	46 of 140	67.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	40.5	382 of 572	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.4	392 of 573	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.2	380 of 580	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.3	339 of 579	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	56.7	246 of 576	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	66.5	155 of 574	73.0%	★★★★☆
2019	62.8	192 of 557	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	58.9	228 of 551	58.6%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	38.5	147 of 236	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.0	195 of 237	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	47.3	120 of 239	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.3	113 of 229	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.0	117 of 221	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	47.8	113 of 225	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.4	62 of 209	70.3%	★★★★☆
2018	39.6	131 of 204	35.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	22.5	433 of 513	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	39.0	338 of 509	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.4	346 of 520	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.9	312 of 525	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.4	275 of 522	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	51.7	212 of 499	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.0	163 of 487	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	47.7	251 of 489	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	40.8	378 of 575	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	46.2	352 of 577	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.3	347 of 585	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.6	318 of 591	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.1	348 of 577	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	52.6	273 of 572	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.7	177 of 557	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.2	178 of 551	67.7%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	34.3	102 of 135	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	42.2	79 of 131	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	35.5	285 of 439	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	31.8	296 of 414	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	48.1	189 of 425	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	47.2	199 of 439	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.1	190 of 421	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.1	177 of 437	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	57.9	126 of 414	69.6%	★★★★☆
2018	60.4	112 of 417	73.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2026	24.6	313 of 391	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.3	310 of 399	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.6	331 of 407	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.8	291 of 412	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.3	262 of 397	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	52.4	174 of 393	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	52.6	178 of 382	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	53.0	161 of 375	57.1%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2026)87th percentile+54 vs school

Hispanic (2026)38th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2026)35th percentile~ school

Male (2026)34th percentile~ school

Female (2026)33rd percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)24th percentile-9 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)22nd percentile-11 vs school

White (2026)20th percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)16th percentile-18 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics51%-4 vs state

Social Studies51%-14 vs state

English Language Arts48%-7 vs state

Science36%-16 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Monday, June 27, 2011

Special Education staff are great! Close Quote

Schools Near Central Middle

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2026)				Forward Exam Mathematics (2026)				Forward Exam Social Studies (2026)	Forward Exam Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Forward Exam English Language Arts 5th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 6th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 7th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 8th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 5th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 6th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 7th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 8th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 8th Grade	Forward Exam Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Middle	Public	6-8	1100 Cedar St	Hartford	53027	Washington County	Hartford J1 School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 673-8040	419	33	12.8	39.4%	329 (78.5%)	13 (3.1%)	57 (13.6%)	7 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.9%)	40.4	429^th of 643 public middle schools	33.3%		42.9	413^th of 628 public middle schools	34.2%	16		55.6	49.2	37.7		56.3	52.5	43.5	50.7	36.2	$15,897	$834	$15,063
Honor Intermediate	Public	5-8	N3501 County Road P	Rubicon	53078	Dodge County	Herman-Neosho-Rubicon School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 673-2920	128	9	14.4	17.2%	117 (91.4%)	1 (0.8%)	4 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.7%)	73	155^th of 643 public middle schools	75.9%		65.5	217^th of 628 public middle schools	65.4%	62	52.9	69.7	66.7	57.6	50.0	54.6	70.0	81.8	81.8	54.6	$16,218	$1,103	$15,115
Slinger Middle	Public	6-8	521 Olympic Dr	Slinger	53086	Washington County	Slinger School District	No	No	No	No	(262) 644-5226	740	44	16.6	17.0%	657 (88.8%)	2 (0.3%)	45 (6.1%)	10 (1.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.2%)	90.3	23^rd of 643 public middle schools	96.4%		89.8	25^th of 628 public middle schools	96.0%	2		79.3	78.5	80.7		78.9	83.8	84.5	83.6	75.2	$11,942	$169	$11,772
Richfield Middle	Public	5-8	3117 State Road 167	Richfield	53076	Washington County	Holy Hill Area School District	No	No	No	No	(262) 628-1032	206	21	10.0	16.0%	191 (92.7%)	2 (1.0%)	5 (2.4%)	5 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	85.4	49^th of 643 public middle schools	92.4%		85.9	50^th of 628 public middle schools	92.0%	1	76.5	69.8	68.4	73.3	68.6	71.7	75.4	86.7	86.7	80.0	$17,680	$360	$17,320
Merton Intermediate	Public	5-8	N68W28320 Sussex Rd	Hartland	53029	Waukesha County	Merton Community School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 538-1130	368	26	13.8	5.7%	336 (91.3%)	3 (0.8%)	9 (2.4%)	9 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	7 (1.9%)	94.5	6^th of 643 public middle schools	99.1%		94.1	7^th of 628 public middle schools	98.9%	1	86.3	89.3	84.9	83.9	81.1	87.4	86.1	93.1	89.7	81.6	$13,592	$178	$13,414
Nature Hill Intermediate	Public	5-8	850 Lake Dr	Oconomowoc	53066	Waukesha County	Oconomowoc Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 569-4945	750	57	13.2	16.7%	676 (90.1%)	6 (0.8%)	39 (5.2%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (2.9%)	81.6	84^th of 643 public middle schools	86.9%		72.8	146^th of 628 public middle schools	76.8%	62	66.1	78.7	72.2	66.5	72.6	80.3	78.9	76.8	72.7	60.3	$13,827	$390	$13,437
Silverbrook Intermediate	Public	5-6	120 N Silverbrook Dr	West Bend	53095	Washington County	West Bend School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 335-5499	704	51	13.6	32.1%	571 (81.1%)	20 (2.8%)	55 (7.8%)	16 (2.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (5.5%)								(n/a)	66.1	72.5			63.6	74.5					$14,585	$480	$14,104
Badger Middle	Public	7-8	727 S 6th Ave	West Bend	53095	Washington County	West Bend School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 335-5456	714	53	13.5	32.9%	566 (79.3%)	38 (5.3%)	64 (9.0%)	7 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	37 (5.2%)	69.1	182^nd of 643 public middle schools	71.7%		70.4	174^th of 628 public middle schools	72.3%	8			70.9	60.5			69.1	55.2	74.8	53.4	$14,557	$596	$13,961
Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	N118W15860 Williams Drive	Germantown	53022	Washington County	Germantown School District	No	No	No	Yes	(262) 253-3450	865	56	15.4	13.9%	646 (74.7%)	50 (5.8%)	56 (6.5%)	63 (7.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	48 (5.5%)	68.4	188^th of 643 public middle schools	70.8%		64.9	222^nd of 628 public middle schools	64.6%	34		64.6	62.3	59.7		65.4	73.6	66.4	69.8	47.8	$12,450	$406	$12,045
North Shore Middle	Public	6-8	800 E North Shore Dr	Hartland	53029	Waukesha County	Hartland-Lakeside J3 School District	No	No	No	No	(262) 369-6767	354	24	14.7	15.8%	297 (83.9%)	4 (1.1%)	33 (9.3%)	7 (2.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.4%)	92.8	12^th of 643 public middle schools	98.1%		94.7	4^th of 628 public middle schools	99.4%	8		82.1	80.0	82.4		87.5	91.5	85.9	88.0	76.9	$13,565	$594	$12,970

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Middle

Is Central Middle a good school?

Central Middle ranks 429^th of 643 Wisconsin middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Central Middle in?

Hartford J1 School District

What high school do graduates of Central Middle attend?

Students who attend Central Middle usually go on to attend Hartford High

How many students attend Central Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 419 students attended Central Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Central Middle?

Students at Central Middle are 79% White, 14% Hispanic, 3% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

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Latest Wisconsin data All new data »

2018–19 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 20, 2026

2016–17 through 2017–18 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2025–26 ACT & Forward Exam scoresOct 1, 2026

2021–22 through 2024–25 school spending dataJul 16, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.