Kewaunee School District

The Kewaunee School District in Wisconsin enrolls roughly 861 students across three schools: Kewaunee Elementary (PK–5, 392 students), Kewaunee Middle (6–8, 185 students), and Kewaunee High (9–12, 284 students). The district as a whole ranks 246 of 432 Wisconsin districts — the 43rd percentile, with 2 stars — but that single rating hides three very different schools, and the differences between them are more useful to parents than the district average.

Kewaunee Elementary is the clear standout: ranked 306 of 1,039 schools (71st percentile, 4 stars), up from the 62nd percentile three years ago. In 2025–26 it scored above the state average in every listed Forward Exam area, and its chronic absenteeism is just 4.3%, far below the district's 9.5% and the state's 17.3% — all despite having the district's highest free/reduced lunch rate at 40.31%. Kewaunee Middle is the opposite story: ranked 419 of 643 (35th percentile, 2 stars) and stuck in the 33rd–37th percentile range for three years. No tested subject or grade exceeded the state average in 2025–26, with 8th grade math at 37.5% proficient versus 53.67% statewide. Its attendance (9.3%) and 0.0% dropout rate are not the problem — achievement is.

Kewaunee High has rebounded from a 1-star, 19th-percentile rank in 2023–24 to 49th percentile (2 stars) now. Strengths include ACT Math at 50% proficient versus 42.93% statewide, grade 10 social studies at 54.1% versus 48.25%, a 91.5% graduation rate, and a 0.3% dropout rate. But ACT ELA (34.38% vs. 48.47%) and ACT Science (37.5% vs. 43.2%) lag, and chronic absenteeism of 16.3% is nearly four times the elementary rate. Notably, spending and class size don't track outcomes: the high school spends the most per student ($17,253), the elementary the least ($15,387), and the middle school has the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.3) with the weakest results.