Turtle Lake School District

Schools in the Turtle Lake School District serve roughly 445 students across four schools spanning prekindergarten through 12th grade in a small western Wisconsin community: Turtle Lake Elementary (PK–5, 215 students), Turtle Lake Middle (6–8, 96 students), Turtle Lake High (9–12, 119 students), and Laker Online (PK–12 alternative, 15 students). The Turtle Lake School District overall ranks 223 of 432 in Wisconsin, at the 48th percentile with 2 stars — but that district-wide rating masks wide differences between the individual schools.

Turtle Lake Middle is the clear standout: it ranks 158 of 643 for 2025–26, placing it in the 75th percentile with 4 stars, up from the 57th percentile the prior year. Its 8th grade proficiency is well above state averages in ELA, math, social studies, and science, though 7th grade math lagged at 42.86% versus the state's 55.67%. Turtle Lake Elementary sits in the 38th percentile with 2 stars and dropped from the 54th percentile a year earlier; its 5th grade math result of 74.19% is a bright spot, while 4th grade ELA, math, and science all fell below state averages. Turtle Lake High ranks in the 49th percentile with 2 stars, and its outcomes are split: a 100% graduation rate and 7.8% chronic absenteeism, but ACT ELA at 35.71% versus the state's 48.47%.

Two practical notes for families: Laker Online is the district's smallest school, with the highest free/reduced lunch rate, lowest per-pupil spending, and highest student-teacher ratio, and it has no test scores, rank history, or graduation rate in this data, so its academics cannot be compared to the others. Across the district, chronic absenteeism is well below the state's 17.3%, and spending does not simply track with performance — the high school spends the most per pupil but ranks below the middle school. Families comparing options should weigh each school individually rather than relying on the district's 2-star average.