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James Wright Middle

Public, Magnet Grades 6-8

517^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 628 Wisconsin Middle Schools

Better than 18% of Wisconsin middle schools

Summary

James Wright Middle is a public magnet middle school located in Madison, Wisconsin, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 259 students. The school is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, which is ranked 317 out of 426 school districts in Wisconsin and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

James Wright Middle consistently ranks in the bottom half of Wisconsin middle schools, with academic performance significantly below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. Particularly concerning are the low proficiency rates in mathematics, which range from 12.66% to 27.27% at the school, compared to 29.18% to 46.29% in the district and 31.79% to 55.53% statewide. The school performs relatively well for its African American and English Language Learner (ELL) student subgroups, but struggles with its Hispanic, White, and Special Education students, as well as its Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) subgroup, which ranks in the bottom 10% of Wisconsin middle schools.

Despite the school's poor academic performance, James Wright Middle spends a relatively high amount per student, at $18,044 per student in the 2020-2021 school year. This suggests that the issue may not be solely a lack of resources, but rather the effective allocation and utilization of those resources to address the specific needs of the student population. Compared to nearby schools like Toki Middle, Sennett Middle, and Cherokee Heights Middle, which all have higher academic proficiency rates and better overall rankings, James Wright Middle faces significant challenges that will require a comprehensive approach to support student learning and engagement.

245

Students ?

9.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,044

Per pupil spending ?

68.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1717 Fish Hatchery Rd
Madison, WI 53713-1244

(608) 204-1340

District: Madison Metropolitan School District

Students who attend James Wright Middle usually attend:

High:

West High

Feeder schools for James Wright Middle:

Elementary:	Franklin Elementary
	Leopold Elementary
	Lincoln Elementary
	Midvale Elementary
	More...
	Randall Elementary School
	Shorewood Hills Elementary
	Thoreau Elementary
	Van Hise Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.4%

African American:

29.0%

White:

11.8%

See top rated Wisconsin middle schools

Compare James Wright Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 13th percentile in 2015 → 18th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (33% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 30 pts below the Wisconsin average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school33%

District avg49%

Wisconsin avg54%

517^th of 628

Wisconsin public middle schools ?

Bottom 18%▲ up 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 13% (2015) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 12Middle Schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District

317^th of 426Madison Metropolitan 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
2025	21.4	517 of 628	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	554 of 641	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.0	535 of 640	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	526 of 617	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.9	549 of 613	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.6	518 of 594	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.7	492 of 579	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.8	542 of 612	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	12.1	542 of 609	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	17.7	530 of 612	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	6.2	544 of 585	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	10.9	519 of 569	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	10.1	516 of 559	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	13.0	504 of 549	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	9.3	497 of 539	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	10.4	481 of 521	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	28.7	448 of 519	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	28.8	302 of 366	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	21.3	325 of 382	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	35.8	264 of 324	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	56.1	39 of 117	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.7	54 of 118	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.9	78 of 130	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.9	68 of 125	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	32.7	98 of 134	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	55.3	44 of 127	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.2	40 of 123	67.5%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	63.0	40 of 178	77.5%	★★★★☆
2024	63.5	42 of 173	75.7%	★★★★☆
2023	70.7	15 of 170	91.2%	★★★★★
2022	57.3	45 of 158	71.5%	★★★★☆
2019	44.7	66 of 153	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	67.0	19 of 140	86.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	20.6	476 of 573	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	511 of 580	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.0	482 of 579	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.1	517 of 576	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.0	519 of 574	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.5	468 of 557	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.3	476 of 551	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	193 of 237	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.4	205 of 239	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.2	153 of 229	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.4	184 of 221	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.8	184 of 225	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	153 of 209	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.9	161 of 204	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	20.3	441 of 509	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.7	486 of 520	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	474 of 525	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.0	491 of 522	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.2	475 of 499	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.1	433 of 487	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.5	382 of 489	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	23.5	476 of 577	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.7	486 of 585	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	512 of 591	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.1	422 of 577	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.7	499 of 572	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.0	484 of 557	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.1	451 of 551	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2024	26.0	113 of 131	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	39.3	244 of 414	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.1	254 of 425	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.1	169 of 439	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.3	202 of 421	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	29.3	331 of 437	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.4	335 of 414	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.3	336 of 417	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2023	88.4	29 of 412	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	90.5	18 of 397	95.5%	★★★★★
2021	34.3	285 of 393	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	68.8	93 of 382	75.7%	★★★★☆
2018	74.3	57 of 375	84.8%	★★★★☆

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)

White (2023)93rd percentile+77 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)78th percentile+60 vs school

African American (2025)67th percentile+49 vs school

Special Education (2025)41st percentile+23 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile~ school

Male (2025)18th percentile~ school

Female (2025)17th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2024)14th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies56%-7 vs state

English Language Arts36%-18 vs state

Science32%-18 vs state

Mathematics24%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near James Wright Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2025)			Forward Exam Mathematics (2025)			Forward Exam Social Studies (2025)	Forward Exam Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2021)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Forward Exam English Language Arts 6th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 7th Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 8th 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
James Wright Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1717 Fish Hatchery Rd	Madison	53713	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(608) 204-1340	245	25	9.6	68.2%	29 (11.8%)	71 (29.0%)	121 (49.4%)	11 (4.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.9%)	21.4	517^th of 628 public middle schools	17.7%		16.3	554^th of 641 public middle schools	13.6%	37	30.9	29.9	48.1	19.8	24.7	27.3	55.8	32.5	$18,044	$1,081	$16,964
Badger Rock Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	509 E Badger Rd	Madison	53713	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(608) 442-1335	92	10	9.4	54.3%	26 (28.3%)	20 (21.7%)	33 (35.9%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (8.7%)	26.3	489^th of 628 public middle schools	22.1%		31.1	486^th of 641 public middle schools	24.2%	3	38.5	54.3	39.3	30.8	25.7	17.9	53.6	32.1	$16,809	$685	$16,125
Cherokee Heights Middle	Public	6-8	4301 Cherokee Dr	Madison	53711	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-1240	526	47	11.2	48.3%	194 (36.9%)	57 (10.8%)	213 (40.5%)	22 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (7.0%)	33.4	462^nd of 628 public middle schools	26.4%		25.3	520^th of 641 public middle schools	18.9%	58	61.4	39.5	38.6	53.1	33.5	29.3	50.0	37.1	$14,139	$633	$13,506
Innovative and Alternative Middle	Public	6-8	1045 E Dayton St	Madison	53703	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 204-4220	0	15	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
One City Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	1707 W Broadway	Monona	53713	Dane County	One City Schools Inc	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(608) 531-2128	99	11	9.1	72.7%	2 (2.0%)	77 (77.8%)	8 (8.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (12.1%)	10.4	562^nd of 628 public middle schools	10.5%		9.6	580^th of 641 public middle schools	9.5%	18	20.6	25.7	38.1	11.8	17.7	19.1	38.1	28.6
Hamilton Middle	Public	6-8	4801 Waukesha St	Madison	53705	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 204-4620	790	55	14.4	19.4%	502 (63.5%)	59 (7.5%)	71 (9.0%)	74 (9.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	72 (9.1%)	89.1	33^rd of 628 public middle schools	94.7%		88	36^th of 641 public middle schools	94.4%	3	75.8	79.2	81.7	72.0	77.9	75.2	88.9	79.8	$13,465	$404	$13,062
O'Keeffe Middle	Public	6-8	510 S Thornton Ave	Madison	53703	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-6820	434	37	11.7	42.9%	233 (53.7%)	81 (18.7%)	50 (11.5%)	13 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (12.0%)	67.6	205^th of 628 public middle schools	67.4%		71.1	166^th of 641 public middle schools	74.1%	39	57.8	58.1	63.9	59.9	56.1	59.0	76.9	62.5	$14,964	$606	$14,359
Toki Middle	Public	6-8	5606 Russett Rd	Madison	53711	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-4740	487	49	9.8	46.0%	210 (43.1%)	90 (18.5%)	90 (18.5%)	51 (10.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (8.8%)	52.2	332^nd of 628 public middle schools	47.1%		46.3	394^th of 641 public middle schools	38.5%	62	52.9	52.7	54.6	53.6	51.0	45.2	62.8	52.7	$14,581	$553	$14,029
Sennett Middle	Public	6-8	502 Pflaum Rd	Madison	53716	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 204-1920	570	47	12.2	52.6%	161 (28.2%)	78 (13.7%)	224 (39.3%)	33 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	72 (12.6%)	23	508^th of 628 public middle schools	19.1%		20	543^rd of 641 public middle schools	15.3%	35	40.2	32.7	36.6	41.8	34.0	26.3	41.5	33.7	$15,603	$721	$14,883
Savanna Oaks Middle	Public	6-8	5890 Lacy Rd	Fitchburg	53711	Dane County	Verona Area School District	No	No	No	(n/a)	(608) 845-4010	360	35	10.2	26.7%	219 (60.8%)	25 (6.9%)	68 (18.9%)	18 (5.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.8%)	74.4	126^th of 628 public middle schools	79.9%		58.1	279^th of 641 public middle schools	56.5%	153	74.8	73.6	62.4	65.4	71.3	58.8	69.1	61.8	$13,916	$412	$13,502

Frequently Asked Questions about James Wright Middle

How many students attend James Wright Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 245 students attended James Wright Middle.

What is the racial makeup of James Wright Middle?

Students at James Wright Middle are 49% Hispanic, 29% African American, 12% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

What high school do graduates of James Wright Middle attend?

Students who attend James Wright Middle usually go on to attend West High

What district is James Wright Middle in?

Madison Metropolitan School District

Is James Wright Middle a good school?

James Wright Middle ranks in the bottom 17.7% of Wisconsin middle schools.

Rate James Wright Middle!

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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.