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Willson Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
386th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,039 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 63% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Willson Elementary is a PK–5 school serving 284 students in Baraboo, Wisconsin, part of the Baraboo School District. In 2025–2026 it ranked 386 of 1,039 Wisconsin schools (63rd percentile, 3 stars), which is notably stronger than its own district's standing of 282 of 432 (35th percentile, 2 stars). Willson has been a fairly steady 3-star school in recent years, with a brief 2-star dip in 2021–2022, and its best recent year was 2017–2018 at 272 of 1,025 (73rd percentile, 4 stars). Among current Baraboo elementary schools it is the highest ranked: East Elementary comes in at 495 of 1,039 and North Freedom Elementary at 570 of 1,039, while Al Behrman Elementary ranks 740 of 1,039.

In 2025–2026, Willson scored above both district and state averages in all eight listed Forward Exam areas. Fourth-grade social studies stood out at 77.55% proficient — 9.62 points above the district and 12.04 points above the state — followed by fourth-grade science at 61.22% and third-grade math at 62.22%. Willson also outperformed most nearby schools: it beat North Freedom Elementary in seven of the eight listed tests and East Elementary in six, and it topped Al Behrman Elementary in every area except third-grade ELA, where the two tied at 60%. Merrimac Community and Lewiston Elementary posted higher simple averages across those tests, but both are much smaller schools with different demographics. Because grade-level cohorts here are small, a single year's scores can swing quite a bit.

Chronic absenteeism was 13.1% in 2024–2025, better than the district's 19.5% and the state's 17.3%, though Lewiston (4.8%), Spring Hill Elementary (6.3%), North Freedom (8.7%) and several others had lower rates. Per-student spending was $15,233 with a student-teacher ratio of 11.7 — mid-range in spending, but favorable on class size compared with most neighbors. Subgroup results were uneven: male students ranked in the 76th percentile and special education students in the 68th, both improved from the previous year, while female students (50th percentile) and low-SES students (48th, down from the 70th percentile in 2023–2024) sat near the state median.

284
Students ?
11.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,233
Per pupil spending ?
50%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 146 Berkley Blvd
       Baraboo, WI  53913-1001

(608) 355-3925

District: Baraboo School District


Students who attend Willson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Jack Young Middle
High:    Baraboo High
Racial breakdown:

White:
79.6%
Hispanic:
7.0%
Two or more races:
4.9%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Willson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 38th percentile in 2016 → 63rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Wisconsin average (61% vs 55% meeting standards)
✓Ranking is trending up — up 25 percentile points since 2016
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Baraboo School District
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school61%
District avg55%
Wisconsin avg55%
386th of 1,039
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Top 37%▲ up 25 pts since 2016
From bottom 38% (2016) to top 37% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 4Elementary Schools in the Baraboo School District
282nd of 432Baraboo School District among Wisconsin districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202664.9386 of 103962.8%★★★☆☆
202557.6493 of 104452.8%★★★☆☆
202466.2387 of 106163.5%★★★☆☆
202357.2497 of 106753.4%★★★☆☆
202251.8568 of 106746.8%★★☆☆☆
202155.0509 of 105051.5%★★★☆☆
201965.9344 of 103766.8%★★★☆☆
201870.7272 of 102573.5%★★★★☆
201736.1765 of 107128.6%★☆☆☆☆
201644.6664 of 107538.2%★★☆☆☆
201561.9436 of 107659.5%★★★☆☆
201448.9633 of 106140.3%★★☆☆☆
201366.8307 of 105370.8%★★★★☆
201262.3431 of 104558.8%★★★☆☆
201163.5395 of 104662.2%★★★☆☆
201058.2514 of 104550.8%★★★☆☆
200957.5517 of 103049.8%★★☆☆☆
200858.7500 of 102151.0%★★★☆☆
200757.0383 of 68944.4%★★☆☆☆
200659.2372 of 71247.8%★★☆☆☆
200566.5254 of 63259.8%★★★☆☆
200440.3452 of 63328.6%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202655.0496 of 98649.7%★★☆☆☆
202555.8492 of 100150.8%★★★☆☆
202465.9358 of 101164.6%★★★☆☆
202357.6463 of 101054.2%★★★☆☆
202242.7642 of 101736.9%★★☆☆☆
202156.6456 of 100454.6%★★★☆☆
201967.2311 of 100269.0%★★★☆☆
201872.2244 of 99775.5%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202649.6437 of 84848.5%★★☆☆☆
202553.5391 of 87055.1%★★★☆☆
202463.7258 of 86670.2%★★★★☆
202347.1474 of 87145.6%★★☆☆☆
202254.3370 of 85956.9%★★★☆☆
202157.2308 of 84763.6%★★★☆☆
201961.1279 of 87468.1%★★★☆☆
201875.1110 of 85487.1%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202673.8234 of 98976.3%★★★★☆
202557.7459 of 100054.1%★★★☆☆
202464.5375 of 101262.9%★★★☆☆
202356.4492 of 101151.3%★★★☆☆
202258.7425 of 101758.2%★★★☆☆
202152.8527 of 100347.5%★★☆☆☆
201962.3369 of 100263.2%★★★☆☆
201867.8299 of 99770.0%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202353.341 of 9657.3%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202661.5253 of 79168.0%★★★☆☆
202537.4509 of 80236.5%★★☆☆☆
202450.0360 of 79054.4%★★★☆☆
202351.0332 of 77056.9%★★★☆☆
202244.3391 of 74847.7%★★☆☆☆
202150.0327 of 74656.2%★★★☆☆
201974.5113 of 74284.8%★★★★☆
201879.375 of 72189.6%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202662.7252 of 69763.8%★★★☆☆
202548.7385 of 71846.4%★★☆☆☆
202454.2342 of 72753.0%★★★☆☆
202339.7480 of 71532.9%★★☆☆☆
202235.5492 of 70430.1%★★☆☆☆
202140.0454 of 69935.1%★★☆☆☆
201954.6336 of 71853.2%★★★☆☆
201859.2276 of 68659.8%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Male (2026)76th percentile+13 vs school
Special Education (2026)68th percentile+5 vs school
White (2026)64th percentile~ school
Multi-racial (2023)57th percentile+4 vs school
Female (2026)50th percentile-13 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)48th percentile-14 vs school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?
Social Studies78%+12 vs state
Science61%+8 vs state
Mathematics59%+6 vs state
English Language Arts58%+5 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Willson Elementary

Willson Elementary ranks 386th of 1039 Wisconsin elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Willson Elementary are 80% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 4% American Indian, 3% African American, 2% Asian.

Students who attend Willson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Jack Young Middle
High : Baraboo High

In the 2024-25 school year, 284 students attended Willson Elementary.

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Latest Wisconsin data All new data »
2025–26 ACT & Forward Exam scoresNewOct 1, 2026
2021–22 through 2024–25 school spending dataJul 16, 2026
2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesMar 5, 2026
2024–25 ACT & Forward Exam scoresSep 25, 2025


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.

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