Summary:
The city of Merrill, Wisconsin is home to 6 schools serving students from elementary through high school, including 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The data reveals a diverse range of school performance, with Bridges Virtual Academy standing out as a high-performing charter school, while the traditional public schools in the Merrill Area School District struggle to match state averages.
Bridges Virtual Academy impresses with its significantly higher proficiency rates compared to the district and state, as well as exceptionally low chronic absenteeism and dropout rates. In contrast, the district's traditional high school, Merrill High, lags behind in academic performance, despite having a strong 4-year graduation rate. The data also reveals concerning metrics at the Merrill Adult Diploma Academy, an alternative high school, with a high dropout rate and chronic absenteeism.
The elementary and middle schools in the district generally perform below state averages, despite relatively high per-student spending. This suggests the need for further investigation into the factors driving the performance gap between the traditional public schools and the innovative Bridges Virtual Academy. Additionally, the data indicates that socioeconomic factors, as measured by free/reduced lunch rates, may play a role in academic performance, with higher-poverty schools tending to have lower test scores.
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