Summary:
The Fennimore Community School District in southwestern Wisconsin contains just one elementary school: Fennimore Elementary, located at 830 Madison St in the city of Fennimore. It serves grades PK–5 with an enrollment of 380 students, and because it is the district's only elementary school, it effectively defines the district's elementary performance profile. The district as a whole holds a 4-star rating and ranks 91st of 432 Wisconsin districts, in the 79th percentile.
Academically, Fennimore Elementary outperforms the state in every reported Forward Exam subject and grade in both 2024–2025 and 2025–2026. Social Studies is the clearest standout, with 4th graders at 82% proficient in 2025–2026 and 81.63% in 2024–2025, roughly 16–18 percentage points above state. Math is consistently strong, averaging 61.8% proficient in 2025–2026 versus 53.1% statewide, and 70.5% versus 53.8% the prior year. ELA also beats state in all three tested grades. Chronic absenteeism is exceptionally low at 6.0%, compared with 8.6% across the district and 17.3% statewide — about one-third of the state rate, suggesting strong student engagement.
Two things are worth watching. First, scores declined in most subjects year over year: ELA fell by roughly 9–14 percentage points in each grade, 4th-grade Math dropped 17.55 points, and 4th-grade Science fell 15.51 points to 60% — still above the state's 53.46%. Second, the school's ranking swung from the 87th percentile with 4 stars in 2024–2025 down to the 66th percentile with 3 stars in 2025–2026, similar to its 2023–2024 result. With 380 students spread across PK–5, individual grade cohorts are small, so year-to-year swings may reflect cohort differences rather than a sustained trend. Notably, the school achieves these results with 46.58% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch, and it operates with per-student spending of $15,165 and a favorable 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio.
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