Summary:
Zip code 53121 is served by two high schools, both in the Elkhorn Area School District: Elkhorn Area High, serving grades 9–12 with 953 students, and Career and College Academy, serving grades 6–12 with 246 students, for a combined enrollment of 1,199. The district overall is rated 122 of 432, 72nd percentile, 4 stars — but that rating describes the district, not each school, and the two schools' own results differ sharply. Because Career and College Academy spans grades 6–12 while Elkhorn Area High is a traditional 9–12 school, enrollment, spending, and student-teacher comparisons are not perfectly even.
Elkhorn Area High is the academic standout: 4 stars and 71st percentile in 2025–2026 (156 of 533), following 82nd percentile in 2024–2025. It scored above both the district and the state in every reported 10th-grade test area in both years — its widest margin was 2024–2025 Social Studies at 65.24% versus the state's 47.67%. Scores did decline year over year in all four subjects (Social Studies 65.24 to 57.78; ELA 61.99 to 52.5; Math 49.32 to 46; Science 54.3 to 48.5), yet stayed above district and state. Its graduation rate is 96.9% with a 0.4% dropout rate, and chronic absenteeism is 13.5% — above the district's 6.0% but below the state's 17.3%.
Career and College Academy is the improvement story: it gained in all four subjects (Social Studies 23.68 to 46.43; ELA 19.44 to 30.77; Math 19.44 to 28.21; Science 25 to 28.21) and posts a 0.0% dropout rate with a 92.7% graduation rate, though it remains 1 star, 24th percentile, and below district and state in every reported test area; its chronic absenteeism is 15.9%. It also reports higher free/reduced lunch (38.21% vs. 28.65%), much lower per-student spending ($5,491 vs. $15,710), and a higher student-teacher ratio (25.8 vs. 14.9).
Thank you for your feedback!