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Cherokee Heights Middle

Q: Is Cherokee Heights Middle a good school?

Cherokee Heights Middle ranks 462 nd of 628 Wisconsin middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

462^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 628 Wisconsin Middle Schools

Better than 26% of Wisconsin middle schools

Summary

Cherokee Heights Middle is a public middle school in Madison, Wisconsin, serving 537 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, which is ranked 317 out of 426 districts in the state.

Cherokee Heights Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Wisconsin middle schools, with performance on the Forward Exam generally below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics were 10-20 percentage points lower than the district and state averages in the 2024-2025 school year. The school also experiences high rates of chronic absenteeism and dropout, which are significantly higher than the district and state averages.

While Cherokee Heights Middle struggles overall, its performance for White and Asian student subgroups is relatively stronger, ranking in the top 50-70% of Wisconsin middle schools. However, the school's performance for African American, Hispanic, and English Language Learner student subgroups is significantly lower, with these students ranking in the bottom 10-20% of Wisconsin middle schools. Despite spending a relatively high amount per student, the school's challenges appear to be systemic, as it performs worse than higher-performing nearby schools like Hamilton Middle and Spring Harbor Middle.

526

Students ?

11.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,139

Per pupil spending ?

48.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4301 Cherokee Dr
Madison, WI 53711-2899

(608) 204-1240

District: Madison Metropolitan School District

Students who attend Cherokee Heights Middle usually attend:

High:

West High

Feeder schools for Cherokee Heights Middle:

Elementary:	Leopold Elementary
	Lincoln Elementary
	Midvale Elementary
	Thoreau Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

40.5%

White:

36.9%

African American:

10.8%

See top rated Wisconsin middle schools

Compare Cherokee Heights Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 51st percentile in 2022 → 26th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (42% vs 54% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped from its 51st-percentile peak (2022) to 26th (2025)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg49%

Wisconsin avg54%

462^nd of 628

Wisconsin public middle schools ?

Bottom 26%▲ up 11 pts since 2015

From bottom 15% (2015) to bottom 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^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	33.4	462 of 628	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.3	520 of 641	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	50.2	318 of 640	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	52.4	304 of 617	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.1	361 of 613	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.4	342 of 594	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.5	399 of 579	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2017	24.7	495 of 612	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	26.4	491 of 609	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	20.0	520 of 612	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	32.5	473 of 585	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	34.8	449 of 569	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	27.9	480 of 559	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.8	481 of 549	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	30.4	457 of 539	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	33.8	433 of 521	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	30.6	440 of 519	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	30.7	300 of 366	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	30.7	313 of 382	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	24.6	290 of 332	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	11.0	298 of 324	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	53.9	41 of 117	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.5	85 of 118	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	60.1	31 of 130	76.2%	★★★★☆
2022	43.3	62 of 125	50.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.3	64 of 134	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	30.5	86 of 127	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.7	97 of 123	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	32.2	58 of 88	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.3	58 of 87	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.4	65 of 90	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.1	59 of 95	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	15.8	83 of 90	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.4	77 of 91	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.1	83 of 90	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	22.4	169 of 178	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.9	133 of 173	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.7	93 of 170	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.2	73 of 158	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.6	46 of 153	69.9%	★★★★☆
2018	45.5	56 of 140	60.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	32.1	426 of 573	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.9	447 of 580	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	56.4	248 of 576	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.1	339 of 574	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	54.1	272 of 557	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.4	334 of 551	39.4%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	12.2	227 of 237	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.6	230 of 239	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	208 of 229	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.9	191 of 221	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	188 of 225	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.3	184 of 209	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	189 of 204	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	5.6	494 of 509	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.4	504 of 520	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	473 of 525	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.0	467 of 522	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.6	477 of 499	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.5	469 of 487	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.7	478 of 489	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	25.2	468 of 577	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.0	484 of 585	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	48.5	313 of 591	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.2	300 of 577	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	47.6	307 of 572	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	43.1	354 of 557	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.3	425 of 551	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	37.3	82 of 126	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.2	75 of 131	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	64.9	38 of 132	71.2%	★★★★☆
2022	90.3	7 of 126	94.4%	★★★★★
2021	48.1	63 of 129	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.5	42 of 101	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.2	48 of 96	50.0%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	38.2	252 of 414	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.8	293 of 425	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	54.1	155 of 439	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.2	186 of 421	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	20.5	396 of 437	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.0	357 of 414	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	44.2	219 of 417	47.5%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Wisconsin percentile	Rating
2025	75.6	69 of 399	82.7%	★★★★☆
2024	75.6	65 of 407	84.0%	★★★★☆
2023	88.4	28 of 412	93.2%	★★★★★
2022	90.5	17 of 397	95.7%	★★★★★
2021	86.2	27 of 393	93.1%	★★★★★
2019	92.5	14 of 382	96.3%	★★★★★
2018	88.8	18 of 375	95.2%	★★★★★

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 (2025)83rd percentile+56 vs school

African American (2025)65th percentile+39 vs school

Special Education (2025)39th percentile+13 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)35th percentile+8 vs school

Asian (2025)34th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2025)26th percentile~ school

Male (2025)19th percentile-8 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)5th percentile-21 vs school

Hispanic (2025)4th percentile-22 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies50%-13 vs state

English Language Arts46%-8 vs state

Mathematics38%-16 vs state

Science37%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cherokee Heights 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 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
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
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
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
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
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
Spring Harbor Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1110 Spring Harbor Dr	Madison	53705	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	Yes	No	No	(608) 204-1100	269	22	12.1	27.5%	156 (58.0%)	15 (5.6%)	32 (11.9%)	30 (11.2%)	5 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (10.8%)	81.6	77^th of 628 public middle schools	87.7%		75.5	121^st of 641 public middle schools	81.1%	44		70.1	78.7	81.6		58.6	66.3	60.5	88.2	77.0	$14,192	$425	$13,768
Ezekiel Gillespie Middle School	Public	6-8	101 S Gammon Rd	Madison	53717	Dane County	Madison Metropolitan School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 663-6403	462	41	11.4	53.2%	131 (28.4%)	78 (16.9%)	173 (37.4%)	34 (7.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (8.2%)	31.6	469^th of 628 public middle schools	25.3%		30.2	492^nd of 641 public middle schools	23.2%	23		43.6	37.2	43.9		36.4	38.9	41.2	56.6	38.1	$15,508	$605	$14,904
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
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)
Kromrey Middle	Public	5-8	7009 Donna Dr	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 829-9530	1,230	100	12.3	20.7%	725 (58.9%)	67 (5.4%)	173 (14.1%)	173 (14.1%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	84 (6.8%)	83.4	63^rd of 628 public middle schools	90.0%		85.8	52^nd of 641 public middle schools	91.9%	11	74.4	73.5	69.6	73.2	75.2	70.5	73.2	72.3	77.0	74.8	$12,903	$172	$12,731

Frequently Asked Questions about Cherokee Heights Middle

How many students attend Cherokee Heights Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 526 students attended Cherokee Heights Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Cherokee Heights Middle?

Students at Cherokee Heights Middle are 40% Hispanic, 37% White, 11% African American, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Cherokee Heights Middle attend?

Students who attend Cherokee Heights Middle usually go on to attend West High

Is Cherokee Heights Middle a good school?

Cherokee Heights Middle ranks 462^nd of 628 Wisconsin middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Cherokee Heights Middle in?

Madison Metropolitan School District

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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.