Summary:
Bowler Elementary is the only elementary school in the Bowler School District, serving grades PK–6 to 156 students in Bowler, Wisconsin. Because it is the district's sole elementary school, its results essentially define the district's elementary picture; the district overall ranks 408 of 432 in Wisconsin, in the 6th percentile with 0 stars.
There are real bright spots. Chronic absenteeism at the school was 16.5% in 2024–2025, lower than the district's 24.4% and slightly better than the state's 17.3%, so attendance is not the main explanation for lower test scores. The student-teacher ratio is a favorable 9.3:1, and per-student spending was $22,830, even though 77.56% of students receive free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-need population. Grade 4 Science rose from 31.25% to 45% and Social Studies from 43.75% to 50% between the two years, and 2024–2025 6th grade ELA reached 61.11%, above the state's 53.66% — the only school result in the data that beat Wisconsin.
Academics overall remain below state averages, with math the clearest weakness. In 2025–2026, math proficiency averaged 18.89% across grades 3–6 versus 53.26% statewide, and 3rd grade math was just 9.52%. ELA averaged 26.53% against 53.63% statewide, and 6th grade ELA fell sharply from 61.11% to 25%. After ranking at the 19th and 20th percentile in the prior two years, the school slipped to the 13th percentile in 2025–2026, with 1 star each year. With small grade-level cohorts, single-year swings should be read cautiously, but the multi-year pattern places the school in the bottom fifth of Wisconsin elementary schools.
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