Summary:
The city of Jefferson, Wisconsin is served by the Jefferson School District, which includes four public schools: two elementary schools serving grades PK–5 and K–5, one middle school for grades 6–8, and one high school for grades 9–12. Total enrollment is 1,468 students. The district as a whole ranks 174th of 432 in Wisconsin, placing it at the 60th percentile with 3 stars. Three of the four schools — Jefferson High, Jefferson Middle, and East Elementary — hold 3 stars, while West Elementary holds 2 stars.
Jefferson High has the strongest profile, with its state rank percentile rebounding from 34 to 69 over two years. ACT scores in ELA, math, and science all moved from below state to above state, and its graduation rate of 95.8% beats the state's 92.0%, with a dropout rate of 0.8%. Jefferson Middle is steady at the 60th percentile and strong in math — 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math and 8th grade science all exceed state averages — but its chronic absenteeism of 25.7% is the highest in the city, well above the district's 16.3% and the state's 17.3%.
The two elementaries offer a striking contrast. East Elementary has the city's lowest chronic absenteeism at 8.7% and strong 4th grade results, including 68.57% in math versus a state 52.87%. West Elementary is above state in ELA for grades 3, 4, and 5, and its rank percentile has climbed from 31 to 45, but 4th and 5th grade math sit roughly 18–19 points below state. Notably, West spends the most per student at $19,044 and has the lowest student-teacher ratio at 9.6, while the highest-ranked school spends the least — a pattern worth noting, though not a causal one.
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