Best Public Schools in Sparta, WI

Sparta, Wisconsin is home to seven listed schools, all within the Sparta Area School District, serving students from prekindergarten through 12th grade. The group includes three elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools, with total enrollment of 2,749 students. The largest schools are Sparta High (871 students), Sparta Meadowview Middle (687), and Herrman Elementary (616). The district ranks 360th of 432 districts in Wisconsin, at the 17th percentile with 1 star, even though its graduation rate (96.9%) and chronic absenteeism (7.0%) compare favorably with state figures of 92.0% and 17.3%. That gap between strong attendance and completion on one hand, and weak test-score proficiency on the other, shapes the picture for families.

The clearest academic standout is Innovations STEM Academy, a small 90-student middle school in grades 6–8. It holds the city's highest rank at the 65th percentile with 3 stars, has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 2.2%, and beats both Sparta Meadowview Middle and the state in every listed subject across grades 6–8. Among traditional elementaries, Herrman Elementary is strongest at the 40th percentile with 2 stars, with 3rd grade Math at 59.84% proficient versus the state's 54.75%. Sparta Montessori School is the most uneven: 4th grade Social Studies (68.00%) and Science (58.33%) exceed state averages, but 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Math range from 15% to 25%, far below state levels of roughly 52–54%.

Sparta High posts excellent non-test outcomes (96.8% graduation, 0.2% dropout, 4.4% chronic absenteeism) but sits below state averages in every listed 2025-2026 subject, and its ELA result swung from 51.52% in 2024-2025 to 35.94% in 2025-2026. Sparta Alternative Independent Learning School concentrates the most challenges — 69.64% free/reduced lunch, a 27.7 student-teacher ratio, a 4.5% dropout rate, and 17.1% chronic absenteeism — despite a 97.4% graduation rate. Southside Early Learning Center, serving PK–K, has no test-score data, the highest per-student spending at $17,512, and 17.2% chronic absenteeism.