1
Alumni: what's one memory from Onalaska Middle that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
620
Middle
DISTRICT 487 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ONALASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551101001448
Onalaska Middle
707 8th Ave N, Onalaska, WI 54650 · (608) 783-5366 · La Crosse County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL620 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
185 students
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 42%
Community
1
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 | 201 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 208 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 211 | 34% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Onalaska Middle→Onalaska High
Based on grade levels within Onalaska School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
58.5%
WI avg 53.1% . +5.5pp since 2023
Math
62.1%
WI avg 54.8% . -8.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 59 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 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 down about 9 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 58.5% | 62.1% |
| 2023-24 | 53.0% | 70.7% |
% 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
62.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.3%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 →
Where Onalaska Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In La Crosse County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 62.9% | #117 of 323 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.1% | #137 of 327 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 58.5% | #142 of 327 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 620 | #79 of 389 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.0:1 | #132 of 265 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.5% | #81 of 265 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.9% | #93 of 176 | N/A |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
620
-84 (-12%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.0:1
was 15.1:1
% White
69%
was 77%
% Hispanic
6%
was 4%
% Black
1%
was 2%
% Asian
16%
was 11%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 620 | 47.6 | 13.0:1 | 30% (185) |
| 2023-24 | 659 | 48.2 | 13.7:1 | 30% (197) |
| 2022-23 | 673 | 47.2 | 14.3:1 | 31% (209) |
| 2017-18 | 704 | 46.7 | 15.1:1 | 24% (166) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Onalaska Middle.
About Onalaska Middle
Onalaska Middle, located in Onalaska, Wisconsin, is a large middle school. It educates 620 students in grades 6 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in Wisconsin is about 381 students.
Federal data list 6 schools in Onalaska School District, with 2,920 students enrolled.
Onalaska Middle is 69% White by enrollment. Other students are 16% Asian, 8% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. By comparison, La Crosse County residents are about 88% White. The school's diversity index is 50%, meaning two students picked at random have a 50% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 47.6 full-time-equivalent teachers at Onalaska Middle in 2024-25, for a ratio of 13.0:1. That is close to the 12.8:1 average for middle schools in Wisconsin. Roughly 30% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Onalaska Middle, the prediction is 59.3% and the result is 62.9%.
County data help place the school in context: in La Crosse County, the median household income is $73,013, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. La Crosse County is home to 38 public schools and about 14,903 public school students.
The closest public school, Northern Hills Elementary, is about 0.3 miles from Onalaska Middle. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. By average proficiency, Onalaska Middle is 3rd among 8 schools close by.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment has fallen by 84 students since 2017-18, to 620. Among racial and ethnic groups, the biggest change was White students, from 77% to 69%. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 13.0:1, from 15.1:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Onalaska Middle. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
La Crosse County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
120,488
Census ACS
Median income
$73,013
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
14,903 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Onalaska School District
- Onalaska HighHigh · 925 students
- Eagle Bluff ElementaryElementary · 471 students
- Northern Hills ElementaryElementary · 463 students
- Pertzsch ElementaryElementary · 373 students
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner SchoolElementary · 68 students
Other schools in Onalaska
- Onalaska HighHigh · 925 students
- Eagle Bluff ElementaryElementary · 471 students
- Northern Hills ElementaryElementary · 463 students
- Pertzsch ElementaryElementary · 373 students
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner SchoolElementary · 68 students
Nearby schools
- Northern Hills Elementary0.3 mi · 463
- Pertzsch Elementary0.6 mi · 373
- Onalaska High1.1 mi · 925
- Eagle Bluff Elementary1.6 mi · 471
- Onalaska Prekindergarten Partner School1.6 mi · 68
- Sand Lake Elementary2.5 mi · 363
Frequently asked questions
About Onalaska MiddleHow many students attend Onalaska Middle?
Onalaska Middle enrolls approximately 620 students in grades 06-08.
Is Onalaska Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Onalaska Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Onalaska Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Onalaska Middle is approximately 13.0:1 (48 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Onalaska Middle?
At Onalaska Middle, the student body is approximately 69% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 16% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Onalaska Middle public or private?
Onalaska Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Onalaska School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.