Butternut High

Butternut High is a small public school in Butternut, Wisconsin, serving 92 students in grades 6–12 as part of the Butternut School District. The district ranks 353rd of 432 in Wisconsin (18th percentile, 1 star), and in 2025–26 the high school ranked 459th of 533 schools (14th percentile, 1 star). The nearest comparable school is Chequamegon High, about 5.21 miles away in Park Falls, which serves grades 9–12 with 196 students and belongs to the more highly ranked Chequamegon School District (233rd of 432, 46th percentile, 2 stars).

Academically, math is the clearest challenge. On the 2025–26 Forward Exam, Butternut's math proficiency was well below state averages in every middle grade—35.71% in grade 6, 40% in grade 7, and 33.33% in grade 8, compared with roughly 54–56% statewide. English language arts was much closer to state, and grade 10 social studies was slightly above state. ACT results in 2025–26 were very low: 20% proficient in ELA, 0% in mathematics, and 0% in science, versus state rates near 43–48%. Those figures come from a tiny cohort and followed much stronger 2024–25 results (46.67% in both ELA and science), so they should be read cautiously. Rankings here swing widely—from 82nd percentile and 4 stars in 2023–24 to 14th percentile and 1 star in 2025–26—largely because small cohorts make single-year data volatile.

There are real strengths too. Chronic absenteeism dropped from above 40% in 2021–22 and 2022–23 to 16.9% in 2024–25, better than Chequamegon's 23.4% and close to the state average of 17.3%. Dropout rates are low (1.2% in 2024–25, versus 0.5% at Chequamegon and 1.1% statewide), and graduation has generally been near or above state, at 91.6% in 2024–25 compared with Chequamegon's 96.3%. Compared with Chequamegon, Butternut has smaller classes (a student-teacher ratio of 7.9 versus 11.6) and slightly higher per-student spending ($20,027 versus $19,302), yet weaker rankings and ACT outcomes. With 52.17% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, versus 41.33% at Chequamegon, families should weigh multi-year trends rather than any single year's scores.