Summary:
ZIP code 53558, covering the McFarland area just south of Madison, contains eight schools serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — three elementary schools, one middle school, and four high schools — all within the McFarland School District, with total enrollment of 5,783 students.
The traditional McFarland public schools are the strongest performers in this area. McFarland High earns 5 stars, ranking 48th of 533 high schools (91st percentile), with a 96.6% graduation rate versus the state's 92.0% and a 0.1% dropout rate. Its proficiency beats the state in Social Studies (72.83% vs 48.25%), ELA (54.97% vs 48.47%), Math (63.74% vs 42.93%), and Science (63.74% vs 43.20%). Indian Mound Middle holds 4 stars (138th of 643, 79th percentile), with 6th-grade Math at 77.27% against the state's 53.60%. Waubesa Intermediate also earns 4 stars (204th of 1,039, 80th percentile), posting 5th-grade Math at 77.02% versus 51.81% statewide. McFarland Primary School has no tested grades in this data, but reports the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (12.69%) and highest per-student spending ($22,595).
The four virtual and career-focused schools, sharing an address on Dale-Curtin Drive, contrast sharply with those results. Wisconsin Virtual Academy High, the ZIP's largest school at 1,566 students, holds 0 stars; Wisconsin Virtual Academy K-8 (1,393 students) sits in the 17th percentile. Destinations Career Academy of Wisconsin High spends just $3,671 per student with a student-teacher ratio of 80.5, while Insight School of Wisconsin High has a 49.4% graduation rate, 21.9% dropout rate, and 0% proficiency in reported ACT ELA and Science. All four virtual schools report 0.0% chronic absenteeism, versus 6.3%–12.5% at traditional schools, and free/reduced lunch rates of 50.35%–68.13% versus 12.69%–17.98%. Since virtual schools make up roughly 62% of enrollment, the district's 1-star, 24th-percentile ranking (329th of 432) understates the strength of McFarland High, Indian Mound, and Waubesa.
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