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What advice would you give to incoming students at West Salem Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
534
Middle
DISTRICT 605 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST SALEM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551635002324
West Salem Middle
440 East Ave, West Salem, WI 54669 · (608) 786-2090 · La Crosse County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL534 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of Wisconsin public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Wisconsin public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 12.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
124 students
DISTRICT 22% · 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 5 | 119 | 22% |
| Grade 6 | 138 | 26% |
| Grade 7 | 133 | 25% |
| Grade 8 | 144 | 27% |
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 15% · 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
West Salem Middle→West Salem High
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within West Salem School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
66.9%
WI avg 53.1% . -2.3pp since 2023
Math
72.1%
WI avg 54.8% . +2.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are down about 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.9% | 72.1% |
| 2023-24 | 69.2% | 69.3% |
% 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
68.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.4%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 West Salem Middle
West Salem Middle's state test result (68.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Salem Middle this school | 534 | 23.2% | 68.8% |
| Somerset Middle Somerset | 415 | 22.9% | 66.2% |
| Osceola Middle Osceola | 398 | 23.6% | 71.6% |
| Mosinee Middle Mosinee | 685 | 24.8% | 59.2% |
| Milton Middle Milton | 509 | 21.8% | 61.5% |
| Kewaskum Middle Kewaskum | 418 | 26.3% | 68.6% |
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 West Salem Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In La Crosse County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.8% | #64 of 323 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.1% | #63 of 327 ▲ 12 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.9% | #70 of 327 ▼ 26 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 534 | #115 of 389 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #109 of 265 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.0% | #239 of 265 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 23.2% | #244 of 323 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +25.1% | #15 of 79 | 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. 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
534
-27 (-5%) vs 2020
+91% since 1990-91, when it was 280
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 14.0:1
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 | 534 | 42 | 12.7:1 | 23% (124) |
| 2023-24 | 549 | 40 | 13.7:1 | 27% (148) |
| 2022-23 | 564 | 42.2 | 13.4:1 | 27% (153) |
| 2020-21 | 561 | 40 | 14.0:1 | 29% (164) |
| 2017-18 | 427 | 29.3 | 14.6:1 | 21% (90) |
| 2015-16 | 363 | 26 | 14.0:1 | 26% (93) |
| 2010-11 | 411 | 27 | 15.2:1 | 25% (103) |
| 2000-01 | 369 | 25 | 14.8:1 | 18% (68) |
| 1990-91 | 280 | 31 | 9.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Salem Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 25% (427 to 534); teachers up 44% (29.3 to 42).
About West Salem Middle
Among the schools in West Salem, Wisconsin, is West Salem Middle, a medium-sized middle-grades school. It enrolled 534 students in grades 5 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, middle schools in Wisconsin average about 381 students each.
The West Salem School District system has 3 schools and 1,814 students.
The large majority of students at West Salem Middle, 91%, are White. The next largest groups are 3% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. County-wide, about 88% of residents are White. West Salem Middle has a diversity index of 17%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Federal staffing data show 42 full-time-equivalent teachers at West Salem Middle and a ratio of 12.7:1. Middle schools in Wisconsin average about 12.8:1, a similar figure. The count of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch equals 23% of enrollment. The gap from the 35% average for public schools in La Crosse County is 12 points.
West Salem Middle is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 79% of Wisconsin public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On BeatsExpectations, West Salem Middle is 5.3 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Wisconsin schools.
West Salem Middle is located in La Crosse County, where median household income is about $73,013, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 38 public schools in La Crosse County, with a combined enrollment of about 14,903.
West Salem Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.1 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, 4 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, West Salem Middle is 2nd of 8 on proficiency.
West Salem Middle falls in the Town: Fringe locale category, used for schools in a town close to an urbanized area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, West Salem Middle went from 561 students to 534. The ratio was 14.0:1 in 2020-21 and 12.7:1 in 2024-25.
Posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 West Salem School District
- West Salem ElementaryElementary · 677 students
- West Salem HighHigh · 603 students
Other schools in West Salem
- West Salem ElementaryElementary · 677 students
- West Salem HighHigh · 603 students
Nearby schools
- West Salem Elementary0.1 mi · 677
- West Salem High0.2 mi · 603
- Bangor Elementary4.6 mi · 313
- Bangor Middle/High4.7 mi · 352
- North Woods International School6.1 mi · 255
- Eagle Bluff Elementary6.3 mi · 471
Frequently asked questions
About West Salem MiddleHow large is West Salem Middle?
West Salem Middle enrolls approximately 534 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does West Salem Middle serve?
West Salem Middle serves grades 05-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at West Salem Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at West Salem Middle is approximately 12.7:1 (42 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at West Salem Middle?
At West Salem Middle, the student body is approximately 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is West Salem Middle public or private?
West Salem Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by West Salem School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.