Summary
Leopold Elementary is a PK–5 school at 2602 Post Rd in Madison, WI, serving 626 students, making it the largest elementary in its immediate comparison group and part of the Madison Metropolitan School District. The school ranks 921st of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools (11th percentile, 1 star) in 2025–2026, and its ten-year history shows it has never risen above the 15th percentile. Proficiency rates are roughly half the state and district averages in every subject tested, with mathematics notably weaker than English language arts; its average proficiency of 26.9% is second-lowest among nine nearby schools, about 22 points below the next school up.
Leopold spends $22,067 per student, a 28% increase over three years, the third-highest among its comparison group. Its student–teacher ratio is 10.1 to 1, one of the lowest in the group. Yet these resources do not translate into higher proficiency. Van Hise Elementary spends $5,799 less per student, has a higher ratio, and posts the highest results. Orchard Ridge Elementary, 2.73 miles away in the same district, serves a similar poverty level (52.08% vs. 56.23%), spends $1,817 less, has a slightly larger ratio, but achieves roughly double the average proficiency (49.2% vs. 26.9%). Lincoln Elementary shows a similar pattern. Chronic absenteeism at Leopold is 33.5%, versus 29.6% for the district and 17.3% statewide—much higher than Orchard Ridge (21.7%) and Lincoln (13.3%).
Absenteeism is the most actionable difference: Leopold has improved from 44.2% in 2021–22 to 33.5%, but remains well above peers with similar poverty levels. Achievement is also sharply uneven across student groups. Low-income students have ranked at the 1st percentile for three straight years, English learners at the 7th percentile, and students with disabilities at the 10th percentile, while some other groups perform much closer to state averages. Because grade-level scores swing widely from year to year, the decade-long bottom-decile rank is the more reliable signal. In short, Leopold is a large, well-funded, low-ratio school with an extended record of low overall results; its closest socioeconomic matches, Orchard Ridge and Lincoln, achieve roughly double the proficiency at similar poverty and lower spending.
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