Summary:
Independence, Wisconsin is home to three public schools — Independence Elementary (PK–5), Independence Middle (6–8), and Independence High (9–12) — all part of the single Independence School District, sharing one address and enrolling 425 students in total. The district is ranked 375th of 432 in Wisconsin, at the 13th percentile, with a 1-star rating.
Each school has a distinct profile. Independence Elementary holds the city's brightest spot: 3rd-grade math at 66.67% and 4th-grade math at 70.37% proficiency, both above state. But its ELA results are far below state (27.27% in 3rd grade vs. 52.08%), and it has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (76.92%), highest per-student spending ($19,475), and smallest classes (9.9 students per teacher). Independence Middle is the relative standout, with the best rank history (2–3 stars as recently as 2023–2024), the lowest chronic absenteeism (8.0%), and a 0.0% dropout rate — though its percentile has slipped from 52 to 35, and 2025–2026 test results fell below state in every reported subject, with 7th-grade math nearly even. Independence High posts a 91.8% graduation rate (state: 92.0%) and 0.7% dropout rate (state: 1.1%), but has the highest chronic absenteeism (23.2%) and below-state scores in every reported 2025–2026 area, with the largest gaps in Social Studies and Math.
Overall, poverty, spending, and class size do not line up neatly with results: the highest-poverty elementary has the strongest math outcomes, while the lowest-poverty high school has the weakest attendance and test performance. Rank trends are mixed — elementary (17 → 21 → 28 percentile) and high school (19 → 11 → 29) are climbing from a low base, while the strongest school, middle, is declining.
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