Enrollment
245
Middle
DISTRICT 416 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MADISON METROPOLITAN SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550852000373
James Wright Middle
1717 Fish Hatchery Rd, Madison, WI 53713 · (608) 204-1340 · Dane County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL245 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.6:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.2:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
68%
167 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 42%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 83 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 83 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 79 | 32% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · STATE 54% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
35.9%
WI avg 53.1% . +6.1pp since 2023
Math
23.6%
WI avg 54.8% . +1.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 24 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 35.9% | 23.6% |
| 2023-24 | 29.8% | 22.6% |
% Meeting or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Forward Exam. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.8%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Wisconsin's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like James Wright Middle
James Wright Middle's state test result (32.1% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Wright Middle this school | 245 | 68.2% | 32.1% |
| Wedgewood Park School Milwaukee | 541 | 77.6% | 27.0% |
| Fran Fruzen Intermediate Beloit | 490 | 72.7% | 23.4% |
| Audubon Technology and Communication Middle Milwaukee | 345 | 83.8% | 10.8% |
| Aldrich Intermediate Beloit | 521 | 66.4% | 25.4% |
| West Milwaukee Intermediate West Milwaukee | 378 | 76.7% | 33.3% |
Matched among Wisconsin middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where James Wright Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Dane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.1% | #305 of 323 | #31 of 33 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.6% | #314 of 327 no change | #33 of 33 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.9% | #295 of 327 ▲ 13 | #30 of 33 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 245 | #237 of 389 | #28 of 35 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.6:1 | #6 of 265 | #2 of 29 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.4% | #33 of 265 | #10 of 29 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 68.2% | #21 of 323 | #2 of 33 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.0% | #164 of 176 | #17 of 18 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
245
-11 (-4%) vs 2020
+11% since 2000-01, when it was 220
Student : Teacher
9.6:1
was 9.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 245 | 25.4 | 9.6:1 | 68% (167) |
| 2023-24 | 259 | 23.9 | 10.8:1 | 68% (175) |
| 2022-23 | 256 | 24.4 | 10.5:1 | 70% (180) |
| 2020-21 | 256 | 26 | 9.8:1 | 77% (197) |
| 2017-18 | 250 | 24.4 | 10.2:1 | 71% (177) |
| 2015-16 | 256 | 27 | 9.5:1 | 87% (223) |
| 2010-11 | 247 | 24 | 10.3:1 | 83% (204) |
| 2000-01 | 220 | 20 | 11.0:1 | 29% (64) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James Wright Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (250 to 245); teachers up 4% (24.4 to 25.4).
About James Wright Middle
James Wright Middle is a low-enrollment middle school serving families in Madison, Wisconsin. The school enrolls 245 students in grades 6 through 8. Middle schools in Wisconsin average about 381 students, which makes this school 36% below average.
District-wide, Madison Metropolitan School District has 53 schools and 25,155 students.
Of every 100 students at James Wright Middle, about 49 are Hispanic, the largest group. The remaining students are 29% Black, 12% White, 5% multiracial, and 4% Asian. Census figures show Dane County is about 8% Hispanic. A diversity index of 65% means there is a 65% chance two randomly chosen students at James Wright Middle are from different groups.
Its staff includes 25.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 9.6 students per teacher. The average for middle schools in Wisconsin, 12.8:1, is higher. James Wright Middle has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 68%. It compares with 32% for public schools in Dane County.
Compared with Wisconsin schools that have similar shares of low-income students, James Wright Middle's results are 3.7 points below predicted: 32.1% against 35.8%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Dane County show that the median household earns about $89,975 a year, about 55% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. Dane County has 169 public schools with about 78,525 students, including James Wright Middle.
Measured in a straight line, Lincoln Elementary is about 0.5 miles from James Wright Middle. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, James Wright Middle is behind the 40.9% nearby average, ranking 5th of 7.
NCES assigns James Wright Middle the locale City: Large, meaning inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has fallen 4%, from 256 to 245.
People who know James Wright Middle can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Dane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
572,674
Census ACS
Median income
$89,975
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
169
78,525 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Madison Metropolitan School District
- West HighHigh · 2,222 students
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
Other schools in Madison
- West HighHigh · 2,222 students
- Vel Phillips Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,004 students
- East HighHigh · 1,643 students
- LaFollette HighHigh · 1,541 students
- Hamilton MiddleMiddle · 790 students
- Cesar Chavez ElementaryElementary · 631 students
Nearby schools
- Lincoln Elementary0.5 mi · 393
- Franklin Elementary0.8 mi · 308
- Badger Rock Middle1.4 mi · 92
- Southside Elementary School1.4 mi · 336
- Randall Elementary School1.6 mi · 320
- Leopold Elementary1.8 mi · 626
Frequently asked questions
About James Wright MiddleHow many students attend James Wright Middle?
James Wright Middle enrolls approximately 245 students in grades 06-08.
Is James Wright Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
James Wright Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does James Wright Middle have?
James Wright Middle employs 25 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.6:1.
What is the student diversity at James Wright Middle?
Student demographics at James Wright Middle are roughly 12% White, 49% Hispanic, 29% Black, 4% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is James Wright Middle in?
James Wright Middle is part of Madison Metropolitan School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.