Summary:
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin has two high schools — Lincoln High and River Cities High — both serving grades 9–12 in the Wisconsin Rapids School District, which enrolls 1,414 students combined and ranks 316 of 432 districts in Wisconsin, at the 27th percentile with 1 star.
Lincoln High is far larger, with 1,337 students (about 17.4 times River Cities' 77), and it is the stronger performer on nearly every measure. Its 2024–25 graduation rate is 94.2%, above the district's 93.7% and the state's 92.0%, and its dropout rate of 0.6% is roughly half the district and state rate of 1.1%. Chronic absenteeism is 22.7% versus 36.8% at River Cities, and its free/reduced-lunch rate is 40.01% versus 71.43%. Lincoln ranks 318 of 533 (40th percentile, 2 stars) in 2025–26, up from 17th percentile and 1 star the year before — a jump that coincided with Math proficiency rising 9.25 points and Science 10.57 points. Lincoln beats the district in all four reported 2025–26 subjects, but still trails the state in each, most sharply in ELA at 14.79 points below.
River Cities High, with only 77 students, has the lower student-teacher ratio (16.2 versus 17.1) but far higher need indicators: 71.43% free/reduced lunch, 36.8% chronic absenteeism, and a 6.1% dropout rate — over five times the district and state rate. Its proficiency is the lowest among comparable subjects (14.29% ELA, 14.29% Math, 9.52% Science), and it ranks 488 of 533 (8th percentile, 0 stars). Even so, its graduation rate is 91.2%, just 0.8 points below the state. With so few students, percentages can swing widely from year to year, and per-student spending differs little ($15,255 vs. $14,844), so resources alone do not explain the gap.
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