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Northwestern Middle

Summary:

Northwestern Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in the Maple School District in Poplar, WI. With 266 students, the school has consistently ranked in the top half of Wisconsin middle schools over the past decade and maintains a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating strong academic performance.

Northwestern Middle consistently outperforms the state average on the Forward Exam, with higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science across all grade levels. The school also boasts an exceptionally low dropout rate, with 0% reported in most years. While the school's chronic absenteeism rate has fluctuated, the most recent rate of 9.6% in 2022-2023 is lower than the state average. Additionally, Northwestern Middle has shown strong performance across various student subgroups, with its male students, white students, special education students, and low socioeconomic status students consistently ranking in the top half of Wisconsin middle schools.

Compared to the nearby Superior Middle School, which is part of the Superior School District, Northwestern Middle consistently outperforms its counterpart in academic achievement, dropout rates, and chronic absenteeism. This suggests that the Maple School District and Northwestern Middle are providing a higher-quality educational experience for their students.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 10523 E US Highway 2
       Poplar, WI  54864

(715) 364-2218

District: Maple School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
205th of 641 Wisconsin Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $12,166 Help


Students who attend Northwestern Middle usually attend:

High:    Northwestern High

Feeder schools for Northwestern Middle:

Elementary:    Iron River Elementary
    Northwestern Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  17.5 Help
Number of students:  282

Racial breakdown:

White:
89.7%
Two or more races:
5.3%
Hispanic:
2.5%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  39.7% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Northwestern Middle ranks better than 68% of middle schools in Wisconsin. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 66.23. (See more...)
Help
The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (89.7%), two or more races (5.3%), Hispanic (2.5%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 39.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Northwestern Middle is 17.5. (See more...)
Help
Compare Northwestern Middle employs 16 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Northwestern Middle is $12,166.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Northwestern Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Northwestern Middle 205th of 641 Wisconsin public middle schools. (See Northwestern Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Maple School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Maple School District 165th of 428 Wisconsin school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Northwestern Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 68.07 128th 382 66.5%
2007 61.74 180th 366 50.8%
2008 48.81 359th 519 30.8%
2009 53.86 309th 521 40.7%
2010 51.20 343rd 539 36.4%
2011 65.42 183rd 549 66.7%
2012 56.40 318th 559 43.1%
2013 53.36 313th 569 45.0%
2014 57.39 278th 585 52.5%
2015 63.43 208th 612 66.0%
2016 74.08 108th 609 82.3%
2017 70.18 139th 612 77.3%
2018 78.92 77th 579 86.7%
2019 75.83 105th 594 82.3%
2021 65.12 185th 613 69.8%
2022 65.82 178th 617 71.2%
2023 69.58 162nd 640 74.7%
2024 66.23 205th 641 68.0%
See the entire list of Wisconsin Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 80.39 33rd 417 92.1%
2019 71.05 59th 414 85.7%
2021 44.66 228th 437 47.8%
2022 56.35 142nd 421 66.3%
2023 68.00 75th 439 82.9%
2024 39.81 247th 425 41.9%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 81.04 25th 489 94.9%
2019 88.46 14th 487 97.1%
2021 36.71 348th 499 30.3%
2022 43.36 302nd 522 42.1%
2023 55.31 200th 525 61.9%
2024 63.43 154th 520 70.4%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 71.83 117th 551 78.8%
2019 82.14 48th 557 91.4%
2021 62.91 184th 574 67.9%
2022 58.70 227th 576 60.6%
2023 72.44 127th 579 78.1%
2024 66.86 187th 580 67.8%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 81.41 57th 551 89.7%
2019 67.91 152nd 557 72.7%
2021 67.75 158th 572 72.4%
2022 72.46 113th 577 80.4%
2023 67.31 164th 591 72.3%
2024 65.29 199th 585 66.0%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Northwestern Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 69.14 88th 375 76.5%
2019 63.76 118th 382 69.1%
2021 50.69 186th 393 52.7%
2022 54.62 163rd 397 58.9%
2023 59.22 150th 412 63.6%
2024 47.23 228th 407 44.0%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Northwestern Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 
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Data source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Northwestern Middle

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 296 1 5 n/a 2 n/a n/a 0 304
1990 307 0 4 2 1 n/a n/a 0 314
1991 306 1 3 0 1 n/a n/a 0 311
1992 306 1 2 0 1 n/a n/a 0 310
1993 310 1 2 0 2 n/a n/a 0 315
1994 308 0 3 0 4 n/a n/a 0 315
1995 311 1 1 3 3 n/a n/a 0 319
1996 311 1 1 3 3 n/a n/a 0 319
1997 315 2 1 5 1 n/a n/a 0 324
1998 324 1 0 3 0 n/a n/a 0 328
1999 314 1 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 317
2000 323 0 1 4 1 n/a n/a 0 329
2001 304 0 3 5 0 n/a n/a 0 312
2002 300 2 2 3 2 n/a n/a 0 309
2003 300 2 2 3 2 n/a n/a 0 309
2004 338 3 1 6 5 n/a n/a 0 353
2005 326 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a 0 328
2006 334 4 4 2 10 n/a n/a 0 354
2007 331 4 8 0 14 n/a n/a 0 357
2008 307 13 5 2 3 n/a n/a 0 330
2009 298 13 5 2 3 n/a n/a 0 321
2010 308 5 7 3 8 n/a n/a 0 331
2011 324 4 6 3 7 1 3 0 348
2012 309 6 5 5 7 0 4 0 336
2013 314 4 5 6 5 0 6 0 340
2014 289 6 2 5 7 0 10 0 319
2015 276 4 1 1 9 0 13 0 304
2016 270 4 1 3 5 0 12 0 295
2017 260 1 1 4 2 0 13 0 281
2018 264 1 2 6 4 0 9 0 286
2019 259 2 2 7 3 0 12 0 285
2020 268 2 1 7 4 0 11 0 293
2021 275 1 0 4 2 0 12 0 294
2022 260 3 0 4 2 0 14 0 283
2023 242 1 0 6 4 0 13 0 266
2024 253 1 1 7 5 0 15 0 282

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Northwestern Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 304 16.1 18.8 23
1990 314 17.1 18.3 23.9
1991 311 16.4 18.9 22.2
1992 310 15.4 20.1 25.5
1993 315 21.5 14.7 23.2
1994 315 20.0 15.8 23.2
1995 319 21.8 14.6 21.9
1996 319 21.8 14.6 21.9
1997 324 20.8 15.6 22.8
1998 328 18.7 17.5 21.3
1999 317 18.2 17.4 31.2
2000 329 18.1 18.2 30.7
2001 312 18.7 16.7 29.8
2002 309 20.5 15.1 28.5
2003 309 20.5 15.1 28.5
2004 353 20.1 17.6 28
2005 328 19.6 16.7 n/a
2006 354 21.5 16.5 n/a
2007 357 20.7 17.2 31.7
2008 330 19.4 17.0 29.1
2009 321 20.3 15.8 28.7
2010 331 19.3 17.1 31.1
2011 348 20.3 17.0 41.4
2012 336 18.2 18.3 45.2
2013 340 18.2 18.6 47.6
2014 319 19.2 16.5 46.7
2015 304 n/a n/a 40.5
2016 295 21.0 14.0 33.6
2017 281 20.8 13.4 25.6
2018 286 20.0 14.2 26.9
2019 285 16.4 17.3 29.8
2020 293 17.9 16.3 29
2021 294 18.7 15.7 31.3
2022 283 18.7 15.1 27.6
2023 266 19.0 13.9 31.2
2024 282 16.0 17.5 39.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Northwestern Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 304 16.1 18.8 23
1990 314 17.1 18.3 23.9
1991 311 16.4 18.9 22.2
1992 310 15.4 20.1 25.5
1993 315 21.5 14.7 23.2
1994 315 20.0 15.8 23.2
1995 319 21.8 14.6 21.9
1996 319 21.8 14.6 21.9
1997 324 20.8 15.6 22.8
1998 328 18.7 17.5 21.3
1999 317 18.2 17.4 31.2
2000 329 18.1 18.2 30.7
2001 312 18.7 16.7 29.8
2002 309 20.5 15.1 28.5
2003 309 20.5 15.1 28.5
2004 353 20.1 17.6 28
2005 328 19.6 16.7 n/a
2006 354 21.5 16.5 n/a
2007 357 20.7 17.2 31.7
2008 330 19.4 17.0 29.1
2009 321 20.3 15.8 28.7
2010 331 19.3 17.1 31.1
2011 348 20.3 17.0 41.4
2012 336 18.2 18.3 45.2
2013 340 18.2 18.6 47.6
2014 319 19.2 16.5 46.7
2015 304 n/a n/a 40.5
2016 295 21.0 14.0 33.6
2017 281 20.8 13.4 25.6
2018 286 20.0 14.2 26.9
2019 285 16.4 17.3 29.8
2020 293 17.9 16.3 29
2021 294 18.7 15.7 31.3
2022 283 18.7 15.1 27.6
2023 266 19.0 13.9 31.2
2024 282 16.0 17.5 39.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Northwestern Middle

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $91 (0.9%) $10,379 (99.1%) $10,469
2020 $177 (1.6%) $10,707 (98.4%) $10,886
2021 $150 (1.2%) $12,016 (98.8%) $12,166

Data source: Wisconsin Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Northwestern Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
Ranks 105th of 594 Middle schoolsRanks 162nd of 640 Middle schools
 7.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 % proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (Northwestern Middle)43.437
 6.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Maple School District)43.437
 6.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)41.740.6
 1.1%
6th Grade Mathematics (Northwestern Middle)7970.7
 8.3%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Maple School District)7970.7
 8.3%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)43.542.6
 0.9%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Northwestern Middle)55.248
 7.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Maple School District)55.248
 7.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)45.541.1
 4.4%
7th Grade Mathematics (Northwestern Middle)45.843.8
 2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Maple School District)45.843.8
 2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)39.735.7
 4%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Northwestern Middle)43.240.9
 2.3%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Maple School District)43.240.9
 2.3%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)37.337.8
 0.5%
8th Grade Mathematics (Northwestern Middle)64.257.5
 6.7%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Maple School District)64.257.5
 6.7%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)36.531.8
 4.7%
8th Grade Social Studies (Northwestern Middle)65.372.7
 7.5%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Maple School District)65.372.7
 7.5%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Wisconsin)52.159.2
 7.1%
8th Grade Science (Northwestern Middle)70.550
 20.5%
   8th Grade Science (Maple School District)70.550
 20.5%
   8th Grade Science (Wisconsin)54.649.4
 5.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
Total Students285266
 6.7%
African American21
 50%
American Indian34
 33.3%
Asian20
 100%
Hispanic76
 14.3%
Pacific Islander00
White259242
 6.6%
Two or More Races1213
 8.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients29.8%31.2%
 1.4%

Schools Near Northwestern Middle








Frequently Asked Questions about Northwestern Middle

Students who attend Northwestern Middle usually go on to attend Northwestern High

Northwestern Middle ranks 205th of 641 Wisconsin middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

In the 2023-24 school year, 282 students attended Northwestern Middle.

Students at Northwestern Middle are 90% White, 5% Two or more races, 2% Hispanic, 2% American Indian.


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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.




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