Summary
Iron River Elementary is a PK–5 school in the small northern Wisconsin community of Iron River, serving 95 students in the Maple School District. In 2025–2026, it ranks 632nd of 1,039 Wisconsin schools (39th percentile, 2 stars), below its district average and below nearby Northwestern Elementary (55th percentile, 3 stars), Drummond Elementary (52nd percentile, 3 stars), and South Shore Elementary (85th percentile, 4 stars). Its history is unusually volatile: as high as 5 stars in 2017–2018 and 4 stars in 2022–2023, but also 2-star years. With only 95 students, a single grade-level cohort can swing results dramatically.
Test scores show extreme grade-level splits. The 5th grade is a clear strength: 78.57% proficient in ELA and 92.86% in math, far above district, state, and nearby schools. In contrast, 3rd grade ELA is 20% proficient, 4th grade math is 37.5%, and 4th grade science is 0%—all well below district and state. Because the school is small, these lower-grade results may reflect one cohort rather than a stable pattern, but they are current red flags.
Chronic absenteeism improved from 22.6% to 18.9% in 2024–2025, but it remains above the district’s 12.6% and the state’s 17.3%, and higher than Northwestern Elementary and Drummond Elementary. Resources are moderate: $13,659 per student and a 15.3 student-teacher ratio, more per student than Northwestern Elementary but less than Drummond Elementary and South Shore Elementary. Subgroup results are uneven: female students rank at the 97th percentile (5 stars) in 2024–2025, while male students rank at the 32nd percentile and low-SES students dropped from the 87th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 33rd percentile in 2024–2025. Overall, monitor Iron River with cohort-level context: the 5th grade and female-student effectiveness are encouraging, but 3rd grade ELA, 4th grade science/math, and absenteeism need attention.
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