Auburndale Elementary

Auburndale Elementary is a public PK–5 school serving 421 students in the small central Wisconsin community of Auburndale, and it is the only elementary school in the Auburndale School District. It currently ranks 206th of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools — the 80th percentile, with 4 stars — a major climb from 2018–19, when it sat at the 39th percentile with 2 stars. Since 2020–21 it has not dropped below the 77th percentile, so this looks like a sustained improvement rather than a one-year spike.

Academically, Auburndale Elementary beats the state average in seven of eight tested grade-and-subject combinations, and six of those by double digits. Grade-4 social studies (91.7% proficient vs. 65.5% statewide) and grade-4 science (80.0% vs. 53.5%) are the highest in its 10-school peer group, and grade-3 math (77.8% vs. 54.8%) is also the group's best. Math is remarkably steady year to year, holding a roughly 22-point edge over the state. The clear soft spot is grade-5 English language arts at 49.2% — the only result below the state — where nearby Stratford Elementary posts 72.7% and Washington Elementary 82.9%. Chronic absenteeism is just 6.9%, under half the state's 17.3%.

The school's results stand out for lower-income and special education students, whose state rankings (85th and 79th percentile, both 4 stars) actually exceed the school's own overall standing. It achieves this while spending $13,674 per student — second lowest in the peer group — and with the group's second-highest student-to-teacher ratio of 14.2. The elementary outperforms its own district (57th percentile), making it the district's strongest level. It trails only Stratford Elementary and Nasonville Elementary locally, and sits well ahead of the Marshfield schools, including Grant Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, and Kennedy Elementary.