Pepin Area School District

Pepin Area School District is a small Wisconsin district with two schools, Pepin Elementary serving PK–5 and Pepin High serving 6–12, together enrolling 225 students; the district is ranked 150 out of 432 Wisconsin districts (65th percentile, 3 stars).

Both schools have improved markedly since 2023–2024. Pepin Elementary rose from 47th percentile and 2 stars to 87th percentile and 4 stars in 2025–2026, with 2025–2026 proficiency of 90% in 3rd grade Math, 92.31% in 4th grade Social Studies, 84.62% in 4th grade ELA, and 73.33% in 5th grade Math—all above state averages. Pepin High moved from 40th percentile and 2 stars to 70th percentile and 4 stars, and its high school outcomes are strong: 100% graduation, 0% dropout, and 9.3% chronic absenteeism versus the state’s 17.3%. Its ACT Math was 60% versus state 42.93%, and ACT Science was 53.33% versus state 43.2%. Middle-grade Forward results are more uneven: 6th grade ELA 0%, 6th grade Math 27.27%, 7th grade Math 81.25%, and 8th grade ELA/Math 47.06%. The 2024–2025 5th grade at Pepin Elementary scored 18.18% in ELA and 9.09% in Math; that cohort’s 2025–2026 6th grade results at Pepin High were 0% in ELA and 27.27% in Math. Also, 6th grade results shift between schools across years, so year-to-year comparisons for that grade are less straightforward.

Other metrics add context. Pepin Elementary has a higher free/reduced lunch rate (33.91%) than Pepin High (20.91%) but still posts high proficiency rates. Pepin High spends less per student ($20,434 vs. $24,214) and has a higher student-teacher ratio (11.4 vs. 9.2), yet achieves excellent completion and engagement outcomes. Chronic absenteeism is better than state at both schools, especially at Pepin High; Pepin Elementary’s 16.2% is above the district’s 12.7% but below the state’s 17.3%. The district is rated 3 stars while both schools show 4 stars in 2025–2026, which may reflect different aggregation or weighting. Overall, this is a small district with two improving schools: Pepin Elementary is strong on elementary Forward Exams, and Pepin High combines excellent high school completion and ACT Math/Science results with mixed middle-grade performance.