Best Public Schools in Alma, WI

Alma, Wisconsin has just two public schools — Alma Elementary, serving grades PK–8, and Alma High, serving grades 9–12 — both in the Alma School District. Together they enroll about 264 students on a shared PK–12 campus at S1610 High School Rd. There are no middle schools and no alternative schools in the city. The district overall ranks 264th of 432 Wisconsin districts, at the 39th percentile with 2 stars, but that single rating masks a very different picture at each school.

Alma Elementary is the stronger performer. Its chronic absenteeism rate is only 6.7%, well below the district's 10.7% and the state's 17.3%, and its dropout rate is 0.0%. In 2024–2025 it scored above the state average in every reported ELA grade, most math grades, and far above the state in social studies (86.6% vs. 63.1%) and science (64.4% vs. 50.4%). Its rank moved from the 66th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 76th (4 stars) in 2024–2025, then back to the 64th (3 stars) in 2025–2026. Results are not uniform, though: in 2025–2026, early grades were strong — grade 4 ELA 80% and grade 5 ELA 78.26% — while grade 6 ELA (41.67%) and grade 4 math (33.33%) fell below state averages.

Alma High tells a different story. Its graduation rate is 100%, eight points above the state's 92%, and its 2025–2026 social studies proficiency jumped to 72.22% from 33.33% a year earlier. But ACT results trail the state in ELA, math, and science in both reported years — math was 27.27% vs. 42.93% statewide in 2025–2026. Chronic absenteeism is 19.0%, above the state's 17.3% and nearly triple the elementary school's rate, even though both schools report nearly identical free/reduced lunch rates (33.7% and 33.75%). Alma High also spends more per student ($17,870 vs. $14,210) with a lower student-teacher ratio. Its rank has swung from the 80th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 16th in 2024–2025 to the 47th in 2025–2026, so small-enrollment volatility is worth keeping in mind.