Cashton School District

Cashton School District in Wisconsin serves about 605 students across two schools: Cashton Elementary (grades PK–5, 292 students) and Cashton Middle/High (grades 6–12, 313 students), with grades 6–8 housed inside the middle/high school rather than in a separate building. The Cashton School District ranks 267th of 432 districts statewide, in the 38th percentile with 2 stars, and both individual schools also hold 2 stars in the latest year.

Non-academic outcomes are the district's clearest strength: graduation is 97.9% versus 92.0% statewide, dropout is 0.0% versus 1.1%, and chronic absenteeism is around 3.2–3.3% at both schools versus 17.3% statewide. Academically, the bright spots are grade-specific. At Cashton Middle/High, 7th grade math is 73.53% proficient versus 55.67% state, 7th grade ELA is 67.65% versus 55.33%, and 8th grade social studies is 72.5% versus 64.63%. At Cashton Elementary, 4th grade math is 67.44% versus 52.87%, 5th grade math is 60% versus 51.81%, and 4th grade social studies is 72.09% versus 65.51%.

Weak spots matter just as much. At Cashton Middle/High, all three 10th grade ACT subjects fall below state: ELA 34.78 versus 48.47, math 36.96 versus 42.93, and science 34.78 versus 43.2. Its 8th grade ELA (47.5 vs 54.38) and 6th grade math (50 vs 53.6) are also below state. Cashton Elementary's 3rd grade math (40% vs 54.75%) and 4th grade science (46.51% vs 53.46%) lag. Rankings are flat or declining: Elementary slipped from 3 stars to 2 stars after 2023–2024 and sits at the 49th percentile, while Middle/High fell from the 44th to the 35th percentile. Costs are similar — $15,156 versus $14,820 per student, student/teacher ratios of 10.4 and 10.7, and free/reduced lunch at 40.41% versus 35.46%.