Summary:
Rice Lake, Wisconsin has four public schools — two elementary schools serving grades PK–4, one middle school serving grades 5–8, and one high school serving grades 9–12 — all within the Rice Lake Area School District. Together they enroll 1,992 students. The district is rated 235th of 432 in Wisconsin, at the 46th percentile with 2 stars, but that single district rating hides large differences among the individual schools.
Hilltop Elementary is the standout: 3 stars and the 60th percentile in 2025–2026, with all six reported test areas above both district and state averages, including 3rd grade ELA at 66.04% (state 52.08%) and 4th grade science at 56.60% (state 53.46%). It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 6.8%. Tainter Elementary is the opposite case — the only 1-star school, at the 25th percentile, with every reported test area below district and state averages, including 4th grade math at 35.21% (state 52.87%). The two schools serve the same grades in the same district, yet their results diverge sharply. Tainter also has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (56.40%) and the highest per-student spending ($18,116) of the four schools.
Rice Lake Middle has been steady for three years at 3 stars and the 56th–58th percentile, with math above the state average in all four grades in 2025–2026 and 7th grade ELA at 68.86%. Its weak spots are 8th grade social studies and science. Rice Lake High reports a 98.3% graduation rate and 0.1% dropout rate — far better than the state's 92.0% and 1.1% — but chronic absenteeism is 20.6%, above both the district (13.4%) and state (17.3%). Its 2025–2026 test results were mixed, slightly above state in science and social studies and slightly below in ELA and math.
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