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Elementary Schools in Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District

At a glance

DistrictMiddleton-Cross Plains Area School District46^th of 432 Wisconsin districtsFull district overview →

Schools

2,316

Students

5-star schools

Top rankedPope Farm Elementary47^th of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Sunset Ridge Elementary up 24 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Sauk Trail Elementary 9.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

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Summary:

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District includes seven elementary schools — Elm Lawn Elementary, Northside Elementary, Park Elementary, Pope Farm Elementary, Sauk Trail Elementary, Sunset Ridge Elementary, and West Middleton Elementary — all serving grades PK–4, with 2,316 students in total and about 331 per school. The district ranks 46th of 432 Wisconsin districts (89th percentile) with a 4-star rating, and its elementary schools consistently beat state averages: in 2025–26 the district averaged about 73.9% proficiency across the six reported subject and grade tests, compared with 55.4% statewide. All seven schools are above the state average, and five of the seven are above the district average.

Pope Farm is the district's top performer, with 5 stars in all three years of rank history, a 95th-percentile rank, the highest average proficiency (80.9%), the lowest chronic absenteeism (6.3%), and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (7.81%) — while spending the least per student ($15,433) and having the largest classes (13.8 students per teacher). Park is the clearest turnaround story, climbing from 292nd in 2023–24 to 76th in 2025–26, earning 5 stars the last two years, and posting the district's best 4th-grade results, including 90.57% in social studies and 84.91% in both ELA and math. Elm Lawn has earned 5 stars all three years, and Sunset Ridge jumped the most of any school, up about 2.0 points, with strong 4th-grade math (81.97%). West Middleton and Northside hold 4-star ratings, with Northside particularly strong in social studies (85.07%).

Sauk Trail stands apart as the outlier: 3 stars in all three years, a 55th-percentile rank, the lowest average proficiency (58.0%), the highest chronic absenteeism (12.2%), and the highest free/reduced lunch rate (41.94%) — despite the highest per-student spending ($21,050) and the smallest classes (9.1). Absenteeism is low everywhere, with every school below both the district (15.4%) and state (17.3%) rates. Most schools saw slight proficiency declines from 2024–25 to 2025–26, which may reflect cohort differences rather than school-level trends.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Forward Exam English Language Arts (2026)		Forward Exam Mathematics (2026)		Forward Exam Social Studies (2026)	Forward Exam Science (2026)	Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Forward Exam English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Forward Exam English Language Arts 4th Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 3rd Grade	Forward Exam Mathematics 4th Grade	Forward Exam Social Studies 4th Grade	Forward Exam Science 4th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners meeting all minimum immunization requirements	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sunset Ridge Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	8686 Airport Rd	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 829-9300	309	26	11.6	9.1%	221 (71.5%)	7 (2.3%)	22 (7.1%)	38 (12.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.5%)	85.5	84^th of 1039 public elementary schools	91.9%		84	108^th of 1044 public elementary schools	89.7%	24	73.4	70.5	76.6	82.0	85.3	75.0	95%		$17,785	$403	$17,381
Elm Lawn Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	6701 Woodgate Rd	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 829-9070	313	28	11.3	14.7%	224 (71.6%)	19 (6.1%)	27 (8.6%)	24 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.1%)	85.3	87^th of 1039 public elementary schools	91.6%		89.7	34^th of 1044 public elementary schools	96.7%	53	71.6	75.7	75.7	80.0	81.4	77.1	91%		$17,665	$787	$16,878
Northside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	3620 High Rd	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 829-9130	307	25	12.4	19.5%	191 (62.2%)	7 (2.3%)	46 (15.0%)	28 (9.1%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	32 (10.4%)	79.6	166^th of 1039 public elementary schools	84.0%		79.8	162^nd of 1044 public elementary schools	84.5%	4	65.7	70.2	70.0	67.2	85.1	73.1	≥ 95%		$17,823	$795	$17,029
Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	1209 Park St	Cross Plains	53528	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 829-9250	245	20	12.4	14.7%	209 (85.3%)	1 (0.4%)	17 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (6.5%)	86.4	76^th of 1039 public elementary schools	92.7%		88.4	49^th of 1044 public elementary schools	95.3%	27	66.0	84.9	72.0	84.9	90.6	73.6	94%		$18,822	$603	$18,218
Sauk Trail Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	2205 Branch St	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 829-9190	360	39	9.1	41.9%	164 (45.6%)	38 (10.6%)	100 (27.8%)	30 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.8%)	58.4	469^th of 1039 public elementary schools	54.9%		60.6	451^st of 1044 public elementary schools	56.8%	18	47.8	57.7	55.2	56.0	71.4	60.0	88%		$21,050	$1,275	$19,774
West Middleton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	7627 W Mineral Point Rd	Verona	53593	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(608) 829-9360	334	31	10.7	15.6%	240 (71.9%)	29 (8.7%)	20 (6.0%)	17 (5.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (8.1%)	83.3	113^th of 1039 public elementary schools	89.1%		86.3	68^th of 1044 public elementary schools	93.5%	45	72.6	75.0	75.8	70.7	82.7	72.4	92%		$18,427	$840	$17,587
Pope Farm Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	816 Schewe Rd	Middleton	53562	Dane County	Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District	No	No	No	No	(608) 826-7700	448	32	13.8	7.8%	231 (51.6%)	13 (2.9%)	16 (3.6%)	161 (35.9%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.7%)	89.2	47^th of 1039 public elementary schools	95.5%		92	17^th of 1044 public elementary schools	98.4%	30	80.6	81.1	84.7	77.8	85.6	75.6	≥ 95%		$15,433	$403	$15,030

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Madison Metropolitan School District	6.72 mi	54	321^st
Wisconsin Heights School District	7.38 mi	3	92^nd
Mount Horeb Area School District	8.85 mi	6	44^th
Verona Area School District	8.96 mi	11	95^th
Waunakee Community School District	9 mi	7	27^th

See the top WI Wisconsin districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.