Summary:
The 54452 zip code has only one middle school, Prairie River Middle School, which serves grades 5-8 and is part of the Merrill Area School District. While the school has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 15.1, its performance has been declining in recent years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 335 out of 640 Wisconsin middle schools in 2022-2023 to 467 out of 628 in 2024-2025. The school's SchoolDigger rating has also decreased from 2 stars to 1 star during this time.
Prairie River Middle School's test scores are generally below the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 8th grade proficiency rates were 54.62% in Social Studies (vs. 60.54% district, 62.51% state), 39.5% in Science (vs. 44.9% district, 50.04% state), and 51.26% in Math (vs. 54.42% district, 53.06% state). Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students (48.06%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a need to address socioeconomic factors that may be impacting student achievement.
Despite the school's declining performance, it has a relatively low dropout rate of 1.3% and a chronic absenteeism rate of 17.7% in the 2023-2024 school year. However, the school's spending per student of $12,474 in the 2020-2021 school year does not appear to be translating into improved outcomes for students. Overall, the data suggests that Prairie River Middle School may benefit from a closer examination of its practices and strategies to improve student outcomes and address the challenges it is facing.
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