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Cesar Chavez Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
686th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,044 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 34% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Cesar Chavez Elementary is a public elementary school in Madison, Wisconsin, serving 652 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, which is ranked 317 out of 426 districts in the state.

Cesar Chavez Elementary has seen a decline in its statewide ranking over the past several years, dropping from a high of 306 out of 1,076 Wisconsin elementary schools in 2014-2015 to its current ranking of 686 out of 1,044 schools in 2024-2025. The school's student performance on the Forward Exam lags behind the state and district averages across most grade levels and subject areas, particularly for Hispanic students. Cesar Chavez Elementary also has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 19.5% to 35.4% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state and district averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools in the Verona Area School District, such as Sugar Creek Elementary, New Century School, and Verona Area International School, consistently outperform Cesar Chavez Elementary on academic measures, with higher proficiency rates and lower chronic absenteeism rates. Additionally, Cesar Chavez Elementary's spending per student, ranging from $13,450 to $14,459 over the past few years, is higher than the nearby Orchard Ridge Elementary and Milele Chikasa Anana Elementary, but its academic performance lags behind these schools.

631
Students ?
12.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$14,459
Per pupil spending ?
32.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 3502 Maple Grove Dr
       Madison, WI  53719

(608) 442-2000

District: Madison Metropolitan School District


Students who attend Cesar Chavez Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Spring Harbor Middle
    Toki Middle
High:    Vel Phillips Memorial High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
46.6%
Hispanic:
27.3%
African American:
10.9%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Cesar Chavez Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 72nd percentile in 2015 → 34th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 12 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (48% vs 54% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 38 percentile points since 2015
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school48%
District avg47%
Wisconsin avg54%
686th of 1,044
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Bottom 34%▼ down 37 pts since 2015
From top 28% (2015) to bottom 34% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
15th of 29Elementary Schools in the Madison Metropolitan School District
317th of 426Madison Metropolitan 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
202542.7686 of 104434.3%★★☆☆☆
202437.0762 of 106128.2%★☆☆☆☆
202352.3581 of 106745.5%★★☆☆☆
202259.9450 of 106757.8%★★★☆☆
202153.0540 of 105048.6%★★☆☆☆
201963.6379 of 103763.5%★★★☆☆
201864.5356 of 102565.3%★★★☆☆
201761.1423 of 107160.5%★★★☆☆
201653.4539 of 107549.9%★★★☆☆
201569.0306 of 107671.6%★★★★☆
201470.9248 of 106176.6%★★★★☆
201360.1429 of 105359.3%★★★☆☆
201252.6628 of 104539.9%★★☆☆☆
201160.6463 of 104655.7%★★★☆☆
201061.3453 of 104556.7%★★★☆☆
200963.5421 of 103059.1%★★★☆☆
200849.3655 of 102135.8%★★☆☆☆
200750.1437 of 68936.6%★★☆☆☆
200640.2526 of 71226.1%★☆☆☆☆
200557.5345 of 63245.4%★★☆☆☆
200428.7505 of 63320.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202549.956 of 14461.1%★★★☆☆
202443.873 of 13746.7%★★☆☆☆
202356.938 of 13872.5%★★★★☆
202281.514 of 13389.5%★★★★★
202168.024 of 14183.0%★★★★☆
201960.842 of 16173.9%★★★★☆
201867.433 of 16580.0%★★★★☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202551.250 of 11656.9%★★★☆☆
202172.029 of 10672.6%★★★★☆
201976.632 of 12273.8%★★★★☆
201862.937 of 10765.4%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202536.9174 of 25531.8%★★☆☆☆
202431.9193 of 26928.3%★☆☆☆☆
202364.949 of 24980.3%★★★★☆
202257.777 of 24869.0%★★★☆☆
201941.8159 of 27542.2%★★☆☆☆
201854.497 of 28766.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202548.7583 of 100141.8%★★☆☆☆
202443.0677 of 101133.0%★★☆☆☆
202352.9531 of 101047.4%★★☆☆☆
202259.3427 of 101758.0%★★★☆☆
202150.9526 of 100447.6%★★☆☆☆
201972.7232 of 100276.8%★★★★☆
201868.6289 of 99771.0%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202524.7261 of 32218.9%★☆☆☆☆
202422.3277 of 33116.3%★☆☆☆☆
202344.8149 of 29048.6%★★☆☆☆
202233.6196 of 29633.8%★★☆☆☆
202135.8175 of 27436.1%★★☆☆☆
201942.3146 of 26645.1%★★☆☆☆
201836.8165 of 27139.1%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20258.8838 of 8703.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.6835 of 8663.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202321.8760 of 87112.7%★☆☆☆☆
202223.8720 of 85916.2%★☆☆☆☆
202121.6741 of 84712.5%★☆☆☆☆
201926.9718 of 87417.8%★☆☆☆☆
201831.7667 of 85421.9%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202535.6716 of 100028.4%★☆☆☆☆
202432.2757 of 101225.2%★☆☆☆☆
202350.8565 of 101144.1%★★☆☆☆
202259.2417 of 101759.0%★★★☆☆
202154.2507 of 100349.5%★★☆☆☆
201952.3507 of 100249.4%★★☆☆☆
201860.2405 of 99759.4%★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202567.328 of 11375.2%★★★★☆
202458.649 of 11958.8%★★★☆☆
202378.820 of 9679.2%★★★★☆
202194.44 of 8595.3%★★★★★
201964.121 of 7672.4%★★★★☆
201894.73 of 6795.5%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202540.1478 of 80240.4%★★☆☆☆
202431.8560 of 79029.1%★☆☆☆☆
202342.3434 of 77043.6%★★☆☆☆
202263.2196 of 74873.8%★★★★☆
202142.6417 of 74644.1%★★☆☆☆
201963.7202 of 74272.8%★★★★☆
201848.2353 of 72151.0%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202573.0175 of 71875.6%★★★★☆
202473.0167 of 72777.0%★★★★☆
202374.2136 of 71581.0%★★★★☆
202274.5137 of 70480.5%★★★★☆
202151.0351 of 69949.8%★★☆☆☆
201980.394 of 71886.9%★★★★☆
201878.6101 of 68685.3%★★★★☆
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)
White (2025)76th percentile+41 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)75th percentile+41 vs school
African American (2025)61st percentile+27 vs school
Asian (2025)57th percentile+23 vs school
Female (2025)42nd percentile+7 vs school
Special Education (2025)40th percentile+6 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)32nd percentile-3 vs school
Male (2025)28th percentile-6 vs school
Hispanic (2025)19th percentile-15 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile-31 vs school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2024-2025) ?
Social Studies62%~ state avg
English Language Arts49%-3 vs state
Science45%-6 vs state
Mathematics43%-10 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Cesar Chavez Elementary

Students who attend Cesar Chavez Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Spring Harbor Middle
Middle : Toki Middle
High : Vel Phillips Memorial High School

Students at Cesar Chavez Elementary are 47% White, 27% Hispanic, 11% African American, 8% Two or more races, 7% Asian.

Cesar Chavez Elementary ranks 686th of 1044 Wisconsin elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 631 students attended Cesar Chavez Elementary.


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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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