Schools in Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin is home to 10 schools — 7 elementary, 1 middle, and 2 high schools — all within the Wisconsin Rapids School District, serving about 4,168 students from elementary through high school. District-wide the area ranks 316th of 432 in Wisconsin, the 27th percentile with 1 star. Enrollment varies dramatically: Lincoln High is the largest with 1,337 students, while River Cities High (77) and Central Oaks Academy (88) are so small that a single student can shift their test-score percentages by several points.

Grant Elementary is the standout: 81st percentile, 4 stars, with ELA, math, social studies, and science results well above state averages and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate in the group at 26.59%. Washington Elementary (66th percentile, 3 stars) has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 6.4% and consistently strong math across grades 3–5. Howe Elementary (56th percentile, 3 stars) posts strong science and social studies results despite a 66.07% free/reduced lunch rate. Lincoln High shows a 94.2% graduation rate and 0.6% dropout rate, both better than district and state, and improved from the 17th to the 40th percentile.

At the other end, River Cities High ranks in the 8th percentile with 0 stars, with ACT results far below state and the highest chronic absenteeism at 36.8%. Mead Elementary (29th percentile) and Grove Elementary (26th percentile) sit in the bottom quartile despite the highest per-student spending ($19,658 and $19,866) and lowest student-teacher ratios (9.5 and 9.6). Central Oaks Academy (23rd percentile) has volatile scores. Poverty and absenteeism track with results, but not perfectly: Washington performs well at 48.76% free/reduced lunch, and Howe earns 3 stars at 66.07%. Notably, Lincoln High and Wisconsin Rapids Area Middle both report 22.7% chronic absenteeism, above the district's 18.4% and state's 17.3%, while Washington, Grant, and Woodside Elementary are at or below 7.1%.