Summary
Colby Elementary is a K–5 school in Colby, Wisconsin, with 354 students, part of the Colby School District, which ranks 413th of 432 Wisconsin districts. The school itself ranks 822nd of 1,039 schools in 2025–26 — 21st percentile, 1 star. That's a long slide from 2015–16, when it sat at the 50th percentile. Among nearby elementaries it is second-lowest, ahead only of Abbotsford Elementary, and well behind Stratford Elementary, Edgar Elementary, and Stetsonville Elementary, which rank in the 70th–86th percentiles.
Attendance has been a genuine bright spot: chronic absenteeism fell from 38.7% in 2020–21 to 4.8% in 2024–25, far below the state's 17.3% and the district's 8.9%. Only Abbotsford Elementary (3.2%) and Athens Elementary (3.5%) do better locally. The school serves a high-need population, with 55.93% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and spends $16,199 per student — more than higher-performing Medford Elementary ($11,816), Stetsonville Elementary ($12,379), and Stratford Elementary ($14,259). Its student-teacher ratio of 11.9 is mid-range, so resources and class size don't appear to be the main difference.
Test scores trail the state in nearly every reported subject and grade. Third-grade math is close (52.38% vs. 54.75%), but gaps widen sharply in upper grades: 4th-grade ELA is 29.23% vs. the state's 53.87%, and 4th-grade science is 32.31% vs. 53.46%. Colby generally trails nearby schools such as Spencer Elementary, Owen-Withee Elementary, and Medford Elementary, though it outperforms Abbotsford Elementary in most subjects. Subgroup results are a concern: special education students rank in the 7th percentile (0 stars), low-income students in the 12th, and female students in the 15th. Overall, attendance has improved markedly, but academic outcomes remain among the lowest in the local comparison group.
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