Summary:
The North Lakeland School District in northern Wisconsin contains just one listed elementary school — North Lakeland Elementary in Manitowish Waters, which serves grades PK–8 with 158 students, so it effectively is the district's elementary story at both the elementary and middle-grade levels.
For parents, the headline is that this is a small school performing well above the state average in nearly every tested area. In 2025–2026, North Lakeland Elementary was above the state in 15 of 16 grade-and-subject areas, with standout results in 6th grade ELA (84.21 vs. 54.95), 5th grade ELA (78.95 vs. 53.63), 8th grade Social Studies (80.95 vs. 64.63), and 8th grade Science (71.43 vs. 51.86). Attendance is a real strength: chronic absenteeism is 8.5% versus the state's 17.3%, and the dropout rate is 0.0% versus 1.1%. The school also spends $25,440 per student with a 9.2-to-1 student-teacher ratio. The district itself ranks 53rd of 432 Wisconsin districts (88th percentile, 4 stars).
The main watch item is math, which slipped noticeably. The school's math average fell from 75.69 in 2024–2025 to 64.35 in 2025–2026, cutting its lead over the state from +21.84 to +10.62. The sharpest concern is 4th grade math — the only below-state result, at 41.18 vs. the state's 52.87, after being 77.78 vs. 53.96 the year before. The school's state rank also eased from 51st of 1,044 (95th percentile, 5 stars) to 230th of 1,039 (78th percentile, 4 stars), still in the top quartile. With only 158 students, small cohort changes can swing percentages sharply, so families should read a single year's movement with caution.
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