Kohler Elementary

Kohler Elementary is a PK–5 school at 333 Upper Rd in Kohler, Wisconsin, serving 337 students as the only elementary school in the Kohler School District, just outside Sheboygan. Because it is the district's sole elementary building, every elementary test score reported for the district is the school's score — so the district's 8th-of-432 statewide standing is essentially this school's standing. That standing is exceptional and durable: Kohler Elementary has earned a 5-star rating in every year of the past decade, ranked 10th of 1,039 elementary schools statewide in 2025-26, and has climbed from the 93rd percentile a decade ago to the 99th.

On the 2025-26 Forward Exam, 76.1%–94.3% of Kohler students were proficient across eight tested subjects and grades, against state benchmarks of 51.8%–65.5% — roughly 24 to 38 points higher in every subject and grade tested. The contrast with nearby schools is steep. Sheboygan Falls Elementary, just 1.08 miles away, ranks 662nd statewide and trails Kohler by 30 to 55 points in the same subjects, while Lincoln-Erdman Elementary, the strongest neighbor at 3.49 miles, ranks 284th. Kohler also has the lowest chronic absenteeism of any school in its comparison group at 2.9% — about one-sixth of Wisconsin's 17.3% rate — and has kept that figure under 4.3% for five straight years.

Two internal trends are worth watching. Fifth-grade math has declined three years running (84.31 → 80.36 → 76.12) and is now the school's lowest result, though still well above the state; meanwhile science and social studies have posted the biggest gains, with 4th-grade science rising from 63.04% to 88.68%. Kohler also spends at the low end of its comparison group ($13,860 per student) with a higher-than-average student-teacher ratio of 14.0, and its per-student spending has swung widely year to year. Finally, only 0.89% of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, far below every neighboring school, so these comparisons describe outcomes rather than identical starting points.