Summary:
ZIP code 54871 is home to one public high school: Shell Lake Junior/Senior High, a combined junior/senior high serving grades 7–12 in the Shell Lake School District with 300 students, or roughly 50 per grade.
That school posts strong outcomes against Wisconsin benchmarks. Its 2024–2025 graduation rate was 97.9% versus 92.0% statewide, and its dropout rate was 0.6%, about half the state's 1.1%. Chronic absenteeism was 12.9% — below the state's 17.3%, though above the district's 10.6%. Academically, the school beat the state on 9 of 10 reported assessments in 2025–2026, after topping the state on all 10 in 2024–2025. Eighth grade results stand out: ELA proficiency was 76.09% and math 73.91%, each more than 20 points above the state. Its 2025–2026 10th graders also scored above state on ACT ELA (59.18%), math (46.94%), and science (53.06%).
The watch items are a ranking dip and one soft subject. The school earned 4 stars and 81st percentile in 2024–2025, then 3 stars and 67th percentile in 2025–2026, after 55th percentile in 2023–2024 — volatile, but still above average. The one 2025–2026 result below state was 10th grade Forward Social Studies at 42.22% versus 48.25% statewide, down sharply from 64.15% the prior year; since these are different cohorts, it may reflect cohort variation rather than a lasting weakness. Context: 40.67% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, per-student spending is $16,862, and the student-teacher ratio is 13.4.
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