Best Elementary Schools in Ashland, WI

The city of Ashland, Wisconsin is home to two elementary schools: Lake Superior Elementary and Marengo Valley Elementary. Both schools serve students from kindergarten through 5th grade and are part of the Ashland School District.

Based on the available data, Marengo Valley Elementary appears to be the standout school in the area. It has a higher statewide school ranking, with a 2-star rating compared to Lake Superior Elementary's 1-star rating. Marengo Valley Elementary also outperforms Lake Superior Elementary and the Ashland School District on most academic metrics, including higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics across multiple grade levels. Additionally, Marengo Valley Elementary has a lower student-teacher ratio of 19:1 compared to Lake Superior Elementary's 12.9:1.

However, both schools face challenges, with high chronic absenteeism rates of around 17.7% for the 2023-2024 school year. While Marengo Valley Elementary serves a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, it still manages to achieve better academic outcomes. This suggests that the school may be employing effective strategies that could be replicated across the district to improve performance. Interestingly, the higher per-student spending at Lake Superior Elementary does not seem to translate into better academic results, indicating that simply spending more money may not be the sole solution to improving school performance.