Summary:
Balsam Lake, Wisconsin is home to three public schools — Unity Elementary (PK–4, 385 students), Unity Middle (5–8, 238 students), and Unity High (9–12, 292 students) — all part of Unity School District and all sharing one campus, together serving 915 students. At the district level, Unity School District ranks 331st of 432 Wisconsin districts, placing it in the 23rd percentile with 1 star — lower than the percentile ranks of its individual schools (46, 38, and 32 in 2025–26), which use different accountability calculations.
Each school has a distinct profile. Unity Elementary is the strongest overall: chronic absenteeism is just 9.9% (versus 17.3% statewide), and 3rd Grade ELA proficiency reached 74.55% against a state figure of 52.08%, though 4th Grade ELA slipped to 42.47%, about 11 points below state. Unity Middle shows the biggest swing, falling from 62nd percentile and 3 stars in 2023–24 to 38th percentile and 2 stars in 2025–26; its results are uneven, with 7th Grade ELA (64.52%) and Math (66.13%) above state while 6th and 8th Grade Math and 6th Grade ELA fall far below. Unity High improved from 21st percentile and 1 star to 32nd percentile and 2 stars, and reports a 90.9% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, close to state norms.
Two patterns stand out for families. First, attendance tracks with performance across these three schools: the lowest-absenteeism school has the strongest results, while Unity High's 32.3% chronic absenteeism — nearly double the state rate — accompanies the weakest test profile. Second, high school math is the clearest gap, with Math ACT proficiency at 27.63% versus 42.93% statewide, and Science ACT at 35.53% versus 43.20%. Spending does not run in the same direction as outcomes here: Unity High spends the most per student ($14,524) and Unity Elementary the least ($12,867). Free/reduced lunch rates (50–54%) and student-teacher ratios (11.6–12.8) are similar across all three schools.
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