Summary:
Sun Prairie Area School District serves roughly 8,250 students across 15 schools — 9 elementary, 3 middle, and 3 high schools — in a growing community east of Madison, Wisconsin. As a district, it ranks 288 out of 432 in Wisconsin, placing it in the 33rd percentile with a 2-star rating. That district-wide number, however, hides enormous variation between individual schools.
Several schools beat state averages. Eastside Elementary ranks in the 71st percentile and has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the district at 5.7%. Horizon Elementary ranks in the 69th percentile with 80.7% proficient in 3rd-grade math, while Token Springs Elementary ranks in the 68th percentile and has the lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 12.71%. At the secondary level, Sun Prairie West High ranks in the 70th percentile, and Sun Prairie East High climbed from the 46th–48th percentile to the 65th percentile, with a 96.1% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate. Prairie View Middle improved to the 56th percentile.
Other schools face real challenges. Westside Elementary ranks in the 14th percentile, has the highest free/reduced lunch rate at 66.13%, chronic absenteeism of 26.4%, and only 7.46% proficiency in 5th-grade math. C H Bird Elementary (19th percentile), Creekside Elementary (28th), and Northside Elementary (29th) also trail. Prairie Phoenix Academy ranks in the 11th percentile with 84.5% chronic absenteeism, though its 93.1% graduation rate suggests it serves students who might not graduate elsewhere. Notably, Westside, C H Bird, and Prairie Phoenix receive the district's highest per-student spending and have small classes, yet still post the weakest results — showing that funding and class size alone don't drive outcomes. Attendance and early literacy and math support appear to be the strongest levers.
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