Wendler Middle School

Summary:

Wendler Middle School is a public middle school in Anchorage, Alaska, serving 422 students in grades 7-8. The school is part of the Anchorage School District, which is ranked 14 out of 24 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Wendler Middle School faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom half of Alaska middle schools over the past several years. The school's performance on standardized tests is significantly below the Anchorage School District and Alaska state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. This is particularly true for certain student subgroups, such as Hispanic, Native American, and Migrant students, as well as for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, who make up nearly 60% of the student population. In contrast, nearby schools like Gruening Middle School, Goldenview Middle School, and Mears Middle School have significantly higher academic performance and serve student populations with higher socioeconomic status and less racial/ethnic diversity.

The declining performance of Wendler Middle School over the past several years, from a 3-star rating to a 0-star rating, is concerning and suggests that the school may be facing challenges in effectively supporting its diverse student population and improving academic outcomes. Factors such as the high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and the school's relatively high student-to-teacher ratio may be contributing to these challenges. Targeted interventions and strategies will likely be needed to address the unique needs of Wendler's students and improve the overall educational outcomes at the school.


Detail:

Public 7-8

 2905 Lake Otis rkwy
       Anchorage, AK  99508-4599


(907) 742-7300

District: Anchorage School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
83rd of 91 Alaska Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,381 Help


Students who attend Wendler Middle School usually attend:

High:    Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School

Feeder schools for Wendler Middle School:

Elementary:    Baxter Elementary
    College Gate Elementary
    Lake Otis Elementary
    Tudor Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  15.9 Help
Number of students:  422

Racial breakdown:

White:
19.4%
Two or more races:
19.4%
Hispanic:
15.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  60% Help


 See top rated Alaska middle schools

 Compare Wendler Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Wendler Middle School ranks worse than 91.2% of middle schools in Alaska. It also ranks 8th among 11 ranked middle schools in the Anchorage School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.1. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Wendler Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: two or more races (19.4%), White (19.4%), Hispanic (15.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 60% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Wendler Middle School is 15.9, which is the 2nd best among 11 middle schools in the Anchorage School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Wendler Middle School employs 26.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Wendler Middle School is $16,381, which is the highest among 11 middle schools in the Anchorage School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Wendler Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Wendler Middle School 83rd of 91 Alaska public middle schools. (See Wendler Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Migrant students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Anchorage School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Anchorage School District 14th of 24 Alaska school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Wendler Middle School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 55.52 63rd 138 54.3%
2006 71.12 42nd 132 68.2%
2007 75.62 31st 128 75.8%
2008 60.19 52nd 132 60.6%
2009 50.57 65th 131 50.4%
2010 54.01 62nd 136 54.4%
2011 55.64 60th 133 54.9%
2012 55.97 62nd 135 54.1%
2013 58.57 61st 136 55.1%
2014 62.80 52nd 138 62.3%
2015 42.62 86th 151 43.0%
2017 9.36 84th 88 4.5%
2018 14.60 85th 96 11.5%
2019 17.44 86th 99 13.1%
2021 18.89 72nd 84 14.3%
2022 14.29 86th 95 9.5%
2023 11.55 85th 92 7.6%
2024 12.10 83rd 91 8.8%
See the entire list of Alaska Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 21.91 27th 34 20.6%
2021 39.90 16th 30 46.7%
2022 24.33 23rd 28 17.9%
2023 23.01 25th 31 19.4%
2024 36.11 21st 31 32.3%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 42.75 3rd 7 57.1%
2022 38.39 4th 7 42.9%
2023 38.41 3rd 7 57.1%
2024 24.13 4th 5 20.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 20.93 55th 64 14.1%
2021 30.43 31st 43 27.9%
2022 21.11 35th 43 18.6%
2023 21.15 45th 55 18.2%
2024 17.19 45th 54 16.7%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Migrant students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 65.56 6th 24 75.0%
2021 31.07 7th 10 30.0%
2023 5.30 20th 20 0.0%
2024 11.64 19th 20 5.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Migrant Students!

Rank History for Female students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 15.75 67th 74 9.5%
2021 27.84 46th 57 19.3%
2022 13.92 58th 66 12.1%
2023 15.75 59th 66 10.6%
2024 12.36 62nd 69 10.1%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 13.80 66th 73 9.6%
2021 18.49 52nd 62 16.1%
2022 17.03 60th 68 11.8%
2023 9.26 68th 72 5.6%
2024 10.27 67th 72 6.9%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 26.24 17th 22 22.7%
2021 31.36 9th 13 30.8%
2022 22.63 12th 15 20.0%
2023 24.12 16th 19 15.8%
2024 26.41 12th 16 25.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 31.57 16th 19 15.8%
2021 17.14 14th 15 6.7%
2022 12.87 17th 19 10.5%
2023 20.76 19th 21 9.5%
2024 12.57 25th 26 3.8%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 26.20 31st 40 22.5%
2023 26.40 14th 20 30.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Wendler Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 19.69 64th 72 11.1%
2021 33.04 44th 58 24.1%
2022 35.94 51st 69 26.1%
2023 12.61 70th 75 6.7%
2024 17.94 66th 74 10.8%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr, 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.

Wendler Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

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Enrollment information for Wendler Middle School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 611 111 68 24 71 n/a n/a 0 885
1990 657 87 51 24 68 n/a n/a 0 887
1991 667 105 51 26 69 n/a n/a 0 918
1992 699 117 68 24 79 n/a n/a 0 987
1993 727 150 68 20 93 n/a n/a 0 1058
1994 744 148 67 23 100 n/a n/a 0 1082
1995 774 138 83 55 121 n/a n/a 0 1171
1996 774 138 83 55 121 n/a n/a 0 1171
1997 718 150 90 49 124 n/a n/a 0 1131
1998 615 119 63 43 109 n/a n/a 0 949
1999 602 126 61 49 132 n/a n/a 0 970
2000 571 137 70 53 110 n/a n/a 0 941
2001 577 136 81 42 105 n/a n/a 0 941
2002 498 151 72 62 153 n/a n/a 0 936
2003 498 151 72 62 153 n/a n/a 0 936
2004 450 128 55 58 141 n/a n/a 0 832
2005 450 154 84 57 166 n/a n/a 0 911
2006 442 149 103 66 159 n/a n/a 0 919
2007 418 130 100 54 140 n/a n/a 0 842
2008 286 55 130 92 92 n/a n/a 117 772
2009 221 65 93 94 84 42 132 0 731
2010 202 49 51 62 75 33 95 0 567
2011 178 40 65 65 65 31 92 0 536
2012 153 39 60 72 72 46 83 0 525
2013 155 48 52 63 62 37 80 0 497
2014 137 43 55 69 70 29 84 0 487
2015 140 36 55 69 63 29 86 0 478
2016 129 41 59 59 53 35 80 0 456
2017 109 39 57 60 43 39 83 0 430
2018 81 41 71 72 62 43 79 0 449
2019 121 33 60 72 64 43 81 0 474
2020 110 33 66 57 68 38 83 0 455
2021 85 25 68 61 60 45 91 0 435
2022 91 30 57 59 69 47 94 0 447
2023 82 20 57 67 66 48 82 0 422

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 Wendler Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 885 43.1 20.5 7.8
1990 887 40.5 21.9 8.5
1991 918 40.2 22.8 7.1
1992 987 40.2 24.5 8.8
1993 1058 40.2 26.3 8.2
1994 1082 40.2 26.9 8
1995 1171 54.2 21.6 14.5
1996 1171 54.2 21.6 14.5
1997 1131 54.2 20.9 10.2
1998 949 52.6 18.0 21.9
1999 970 56.8 17.1 24.5
2000 941 58.9 16.0 24
2001 941 57.6 16.3 22
2002 936 55.3 16.9 23.9
2003 936 55.3 16.9 23.9
2004 832 52.8 15.8 25.5
2005 911 54.8 16.6 30.5
2006 919 52.5 17.5 40.9
2007 842 53.6 15.7 35.5
2008 772 49.3 15.7 54.5
2009 731 49.2 14.9 52
2010 567 38.6 14.6 49.4
2011 536 40.7 13.1 56.5
2012 525 42.4 12.3 56.6
2013 497 37.8 13.1 56.3
2014 487 36.1 13.4 69.4
2015 478 33.0 14.4 61.1
2016 456 33.0 13.8 62.9
2017 430 32.2 13.3 80.2
2018 449 30.2 14.8 80.4
2019 474 30.0 15.7 21.1
2020 455 27.9 16.3 62
2021 435 27.5 15.7 n/a
2022 447 28.1 15.9 n/a
2023 422 26.4 15.9 60

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 Wendler Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 885 43.1 20.5 7.8
1990 887 40.5 21.9 8.5
1991 918 40.2 22.8 7.1
1992 987 40.2 24.5 8.8
1993 1058 40.2 26.3 8.2
1994 1082 40.2 26.9 8
1995 1171 54.2 21.6 14.5
1996 1171 54.2 21.6 14.5
1997 1131 54.2 20.9 10.2
1998 949 52.6 18.0 21.9
1999 970 56.8 17.1 24.5
2000 941 58.9 16.0 24
2001 941 57.6 16.3 22
2002 936 55.3 16.9 23.9
2003 936 55.3 16.9 23.9
2004 832 52.8 15.8 25.5
2005 911 54.8 16.6 30.5
2006 919 52.5 17.5 40.9
2007 842 53.6 15.7 35.5
2008 772 49.3 15.7 54.5
2009 731 49.2 14.9 52
2010 567 38.6 14.6 49.4
2011 536 40.7 13.1 56.5
2012 525 42.4 12.3 56.6
2013 497 37.8 13.1 56.3
2014 487 36.1 13.4 69.4
2015 478 33.0 14.4 61.1
2016 456 33.0 13.8 62.9
2017 430 32.2 13.3 80.2
2018 449 30.2 14.8 80.4
2019 474 30.0 15.7 21.1
2020 455 27.9 16.3 62
2021 435 27.5 15.7 n/a
2022 447 28.1 15.9 n/a
2023 422 26.4 15.9 60

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 Wendler Middle School

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,999 (12.2%) $14,381 (87.8%) $16,381

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Wendler Middle School

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 86th of 99 Middle schoolsRanks 85th of 92 Middle schools
 5.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
8th Grade Science (Wendler Middle School)35.325
 10.3%
   8th Grade Science (Anchorage School District)45.237.3
 8%
   8th Grade Science (Alaska)43.134.5
 8.6%
All Grades Science (Wendler Middle School)35.325
 10.3%
   All Grades Science (Anchorage School District)46.639.4
 7.2%
   All Grades Science (Alaska)44.736.9
 7.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students474422
 11%
African American3320
 39.4%
American Indian6466
 3.1%
Asian6057
 5%
Hispanic7267
 6.9%
Pacific Islander4348
 11.6%
White12182
 32.2%
Two or More Races8182
 1.2%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients21.1%60%
 38.9%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Wendler Middle School

Students at Wendler Middle School are 19% White, 19% Two or more races, 16% Hispanic, 16% American Indian, 14% Asian, 11% Pacific Islander, 5% African American.

Wendler Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.8% of Alaska middle schools.

Students who attend Wendler Middle School usually go on to attend Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 422 students attended Wendler Middle School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Developmenr.

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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