Steffen Middle

Steffen Middle School is a grades 6–8 school serving 418 students in Mequon, Wisconsin, a suburban community in Ozaukee County just north of Milwaukee, and it is part of the Mequon-Thiensville School District.

Steffen ranks 27th of 643 middle schools statewide (96th percentile, 5 stars) for 2025–2026 — its highest position in a decade of history and a jump from the 90th percentile the year before. Proficiency sits about 20–30 points above state averages in every subject tested, averaging roughly 80% versus about 55% statewide, with the biggest gains in 8th-grade Science (+12.5 points) and 6th-grade ELA (+14.3). Attendance is the cleanest differentiator: chronic absenteeism is just 3.3%, roughly one-fifth of the state rate and tied with the best performers in the area, including John Long Middle (3.1%) and Whitefish Bay Middle (3.2%) — and about half the rate of Lake Shore Middle (6.8%), its own district sibling 2.6 miles away. Steffen reaches the 96th percentile with a 14.8% low-income share and $15,129 per student, less than Bayside Middle, Maple Dale School and Lake Shore spend.

Unusually, the school is strong across nearly every subgroup it reports — special education students rank in the 93rd percentile and English language learners in the 98th — with no group below the 80th percentile. Low-income students, at the 87th percentile, are the only group outside the top decile, but they have climbed from the 62nd percentile two years ago, the fastest improvement of any group. Two things to watch: 7th-grade ELA (70.5%) and math (74.4%) are the school's lowest scores and the only measures below district averages, and the data covers tested subjects only, leaving out arts and world language.