Wasilla Middle School

Summary:

Wasilla Middle School is a public middle school serving around 610 students in grades 6-8 in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District in Wasilla, Alaska. The student body is predominantly White (around 62%), with significant percentages of Native American (around 10%) and students of two or more races (around 16%).

Wasilla Middle School has consistently underperformed compared to the district and state averages in standardized test scores for English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 29.08% of Wasilla Middle School students were proficient or better in STAR/English Language Arts, compared to 38.97% for the district and 31.5% for the state. The school has also consistently ranked in the bottom half of Alaska middle schools, with a ranking of 71 out of 91 schools in the 2023-2024 school year and a 1-star rating out of 5 by SchoolDigger. When compared to nearby schools like Palmer Middle School and Houston Middle School, Wasilla Middle School consistently underperforms in academic metrics and school rankings.

Wasilla Middle School's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups. While the school ranks relatively well for Hispanic and multi-racial students, it ranks very low for White students and military-connected students. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students (43.77% in 2022-2023) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a higher proportion of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds compared to the nearby schools. These factors suggest that the school may need to implement targeted strategies and interventions to address the unique needs of its diverse student population and improve its overall academic performance.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 650 Bogard Rd
       Wasilla, AK  99654


(907) 352-5300

District: Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
71st of 91 Alaska Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,949 Help


Feeder schools for Wasilla Middle School:

Elementary:    Iditarod Elementary
    Snowshoe Elementary
    Tanaina Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  20.5 Help
Number of students:  610

Racial breakdown:

White:
62.8%
Two or more races:
16.1%
American Indian:
10.3%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  43.8% Help


 See top rated Alaska middle schools

 Compare Wasilla Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Wasilla Middle School ranks worse than 78% of middle schools in Alaska. It also ranks 2nd among 3 ranked middle schools in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 27.23. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Wasilla Middle School has the largest middle school student body size in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Racial makeup is: White (62.8%), two or more races (16.1%), American Indian (10.3%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 43.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Wasilla Middle School is 20.5. 1 middle schools in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Wasilla Middle School employs 29.7 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Wasilla Middle School is $14,949, which is the lowest among 3 middle schools in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Wasilla Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Wasilla Middle School 71st of 91 Alaska public middle schools. (See Wasilla Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Migrant students:
Female students:
Military Connected students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
Native American students:
White students:


Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District 8th of 24 Alaska school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Wasilla Middle School.

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Rank History for Wasilla Middle School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 64.15 51st 138 63.0%
2006 70.15 45th 132 65.9%
2007 70.71 41st 128 68.0%
2008 66.28 44th 132 66.7%
2009 74.88 26th 131 80.2%
2010 74.13 36th 136 73.5%
2011 78.51 24th 133 82.0%
2012 76.15 32nd 135 76.3%
2013 73.81 38th 136 72.1%
2014 70.22 41st 138 70.3%
2015 46.41 80th 151 47.0%
2017 29.31 68th 88 22.7%
2018 34.70 68th 96 29.2%
2019 20.51 83rd 99 16.2%
2021 36.28 54th 84 35.7%
2022 16.23 84th 95 11.6%
2023 21.75 73rd 92 20.7%
2024 27.23 71st 91 22.0%
See the entire list of Alaska Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 52.21 17th 34 50.0%
2021 30.39 22nd 30 26.7%
2022 27.21 20th 28 28.6%
2023 37.58 22nd 31 29.0%
2024 54.10 9th 31 71.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 26.75 8th 11 27.3%
2024 41.22 5th 14 64.3%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

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

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 23.52 51st 64 20.3%
2021 49.32 19th 43 55.8%
2022 23.07 32nd 43 25.6%
2023 30.81 39th 55 29.1%
2024 44.47 26th 54 51.9%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Migrant students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 30.59 18th 24 25.0%
2021 28.63 8th 10 20.0%
2022 19.42 9th 12 25.0%
2023 30.31 14th 20 30.0%
2024 35.63 11th 20 45.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Migrant Students!

Rank History for Female students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 16.81 66th 74 10.8%
2021 37.58 37th 57 35.1%
2022 16.64 57th 66 13.6%
2023 18.93 56th 66 15.2%
2024 24.26 55th 69 20.3%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 16.85 17th 20 15.0%
2021 49.03 7th 14 50.0%
2022 28.73 13th 17 23.5%
2023 6.35 17th 17 0.0%
2024 7.48 14th 14 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 19.93 61st 73 16.4%
2021 38.12 37th 62 40.3%
2022 16.82 61st 68 10.3%
2023 23.15 57th 72 20.8%
2024 28.29 51st 72 29.2%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 92.05 2nd 22 90.9%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 46.85 9th 15 40.0%
2023 25.82 16th 21 23.8%
2024 49.69 11th 26 57.7%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 25.12 32nd 40 20.0%
2021 33.95 10th 16 37.5%
2024 35.69 12th 20 40.0%
See the entire list of Best Alaska Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Wasilla Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AK State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 13.18 67th 72 6.9%
2021 26.01 50th 58 13.8%
2022 11.27 64th 69 7.2%
2023 12.62 69th 75 8.0%
2024 16.81 68th 74 8.1%
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.

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






Data source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)
50%

0%

0%

0%

50%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Friday, August 20, 2010

Open Quote Poorly coordinated events, Principal brushes off problems that are serious issues and downplays the "truth" as if trying to cover up things that are transpiring on and off school. My child does not look forward to going to school, however academically she does very well; sad though the school took the joy of learning in the atmosphere that is reminisant of a prison. Way too overcrowded as well. When I have spoken to past staff they mentioned they would prefer to pay for private school as opposed to sending their child to Wasilla Middle, NOT GOOD!!! Close Quote



Enrollment information for Wasilla Middle School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 452 1 5 4 35 n/a n/a 0 497
1990 522 4 6 8 34 n/a n/a 0 574
1991 527 4 3 11 34 n/a n/a 0 579
1992 571 4 7 14 52 n/a n/a 0 648
1993 572 5 6 9 59 n/a n/a 0 651
1994 612 5 10 9 56 n/a n/a 0 692
1995 555 6 6 9 62 n/a n/a 4 642
1996 555 6 6 9 62 n/a n/a 4 642
1997 705 4 3 18 75 n/a n/a 0 805
1998 762 4 7 14 84 n/a n/a 0 871
1999 797 5 6 20 93 n/a n/a 0 921
2000 746 10 7 27 99 n/a n/a 0 889
2001 730 8 6 22 105 n/a n/a 0 871
2002 584 11 5 20 104 n/a n/a 0 724
2003 584 11 5 20 104 n/a n/a 0 724
2004 592 10 7 21 109 n/a n/a 0 739
2005 617 14 10 25 118 n/a n/a 0 784
2006 600 13 8 25 110 n/a n/a 0 756
2007 671 13 15 26 122 n/a n/a 0 847
2008 619 12 12 21 109 n/a n/a 31 804
2009 617 7 13 25 103 3 29 0 797
2010 614 12 12 24 112 6 27 0 807
2011 640 14 24 31 110 10 25 0 854
2012 606 22 30 28 125 15 2 0 828
2013 584 27 27 30 143 17 1 0 829
2014 571 22 25 26 143 11 0 0 798
2015 492 24 24 30 148 5 0 0 723
2016 345 14 19 21 91 6 27 0 523
2017 387 16 10 21 103 12 35 0 584
2018 429 13 12 23 121 11 39 0 648
2019 422 14 11 19 129 12 41 0 648
2020 403 6 11 51 104 6 90 0 671
2021 353 6 11 36 74 5 88 0 573
2022 370 3 8 50 72 9 95 0 607
2023 383 3 13 43 63 7 98 0 610

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 Wasilla Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 497 23.0 21.6 11.7
1990 574 27.5 20.8 12.7
1991 579 34.0 17.0 14.2
1992 648 34.0 19.0 17.1
1993 651 34.0 19.1 17.1
1994 692 34.0 20.4 16
1995 642 37.5 17.1 23.2
1996 642 37.5 17.1 23.2
1997 805 37.5 21.5 23.5
1998 871 48.5 18.0 28.6
1999 921 48.5 19.0 32.4
2000 889 47.5 18.7 47
2001 871 52.0 16.8 32.1
2002 724 49.0 14.8 34
2003 724 49.0 14.8 34
2004 739 43.0 17.2 37.1
2005 784 43.0 18.2 39.3
2006 756 47.0 16.1 40.3
2007 847 48.1 17.6 39.2
2008 804 46.6 17.3 41.1
2009 797 46.5 17.1 40.2
2010 807 47.8 16.8 41.6
2011 854 51.0 16.7 41.1
2012 828 43.9 18.8 41.3
2013 829 32.9 25.1 45
2014 798 39.2 20.3 44.5
2015 723 36.0 20.0 44.5
2016 523 32.0 16.3 47.2
2017 584 28.9 20.1 46.7
2018 648 30.4 21.2 46.9
2019 648 31.4 20.5 56.9
2020 671 31.8 21.0 51.6
2021 573 34.8 16.4 n/a
2022 607 32.0 18.9 n/a
2023 610 29.7 20.5 43.8

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 Wasilla Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 497 23.0 21.6 11.7
1990 574 27.5 20.8 12.7
1991 579 34.0 17.0 14.2
1992 648 34.0 19.0 17.1
1993 651 34.0 19.1 17.1
1994 692 34.0 20.4 16
1995 642 37.5 17.1 23.2
1996 642 37.5 17.1 23.2
1997 805 37.5 21.5 23.5
1998 871 48.5 18.0 28.6
1999 921 48.5 19.0 32.4
2000 889 47.5 18.7 47
2001 871 52.0 16.8 32.1
2002 724 49.0 14.8 34
2003 724 49.0 14.8 34
2004 739 43.0 17.2 37.1
2005 784 43.0 18.2 39.3
2006 756 47.0 16.1 40.3
2007 847 48.1 17.6 39.2
2008 804 46.6 17.3 41.1
2009 797 46.5 17.1 40.2
2010 807 47.8 16.8 41.6
2011 854 51.0 16.7 41.1
2012 828 43.9 18.8 41.3
2013 829 32.9 25.1 45
2014 798 39.2 20.3 44.5
2015 723 36.0 20.0 44.5
2016 523 32.0 16.3 47.2
2017 584 28.9 20.1 46.7
2018 648 30.4 21.2 46.9
2019 648 31.4 20.5 56.9
2020 671 31.8 21.0 51.6
2021 573 34.8 16.4 n/a
2022 607 32.0 18.9 n/a
2023 610 29.7 20.5 43.8

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 Wasilla Middle School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,705 (11.4%) $13,244 (88.6%) $14,949

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Wasilla 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 83rd of 99 Middle schoolsRanks 73rd of 92 Middle schools
 4.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
8th Grade Science (Wasilla Middle School)37.131.4
 5.7%
   8th Grade Science (Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District)48.641.4
 7.2%
   8th Grade Science (Alaska)43.134.5
 8.6%
All Grades Science (Wasilla Middle School)37.131.4
 5.7%
   All Grades Science (Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District)5146.5
 4.5%
   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 Students648610
 5.9%
African American143
 78.6%
American Indian12963
 51.2%
Asian1113
 18.2%
Hispanic1943
 126.3%
Pacific Islander127
 41.7%
White422383
 9.2%
Two or More Races4198
 139%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients56.9%43.8%
 13.2%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Wasilla Middle School

Students at Wasilla Middle School are 63% White, 16% Two or more races, 10% American Indian, 7% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

Wasilla Middle School ranks in the bottom 22.0% of Alaska middle schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 610 students attended Wasilla 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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