Northwood Elementary

Northwood Elementary is a small PK–5 school serving 133 students in Minong, Wisconsin, part of the Northwood School District. The school ranked 846th of 1,039 Wisconsin elementary schools in 2025–2026 — the 19th percentile with a 1-star rating — while its district ranks 403rd of 432 districts, in the 7th percentile with 0 stars. Northwood's percentile has ranged from 11 to 27 across the years shown, always at 1 star, with its best recent year being 2023–2024 at the 27th percentile.

Academically, 4th-grade Social Studies is the clearest bright spot: 71.43% proficiency in 2025–2026, above the district, the state (65.51%) and Hayward Intermediate. Math and ELA trail the state in every grade shown, and 4th-grade ELA and math both reported 0% in 2025–2026 — notable, though very small grade cohorts make single-year figures volatile. Science has slid sharply, from 50% in 2023–2024 (close to the state's 52.92%) to 31.82% the next year and 28.57% in 2025–2026. Compared with Hayward Intermediate, Northwood is lower in nearly every subject except Social Studies.

Attendance has been a relative strength. Chronic absenteeism fell from 22.8% in 2021–2022 to 6.3% in 2023–2024 before rising to 12.2% in 2024–2025 — still below the state's 17.3% but worth watching. About 54.89% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, the highest among nearby schools, and per-pupil spending is $17,024 with a student-teacher ratio of 9.6. Those favorable resources have not yet translated into results comparable to Hayward Intermediate, which serves a similar low-income population. Effectiveness rankings for lower-income students sit in the bottom quartile in recent years, and the school's same-campus NorthStar Community Charter School serves a much different, smaller population of 20 students.