Summary:
ZIP code 53168 is home to two public schools serving a combined 2,245 students: Central High, a grades 9–12 school with 1,309 students in the Westosha Central Union High School School District, and Salem Elementary, a PK–8 school with 936 students in the Salem School District. Because the elementary school runs through 8th grade, the area has no standalone middle school.
Central High is the stronger performer overall. Its district ranks 147 of 432 (66th percentile) with 3 stars, and it posts a 97.5% graduation rate against the state's 92.0%, a 0.0% dropout rate against 1.1%, and chronic absenteeism of 12.8% against 17.3%. In 2025–26 it scored above the state in all four tested subjects: social studies 58.86 vs 48.25, mathematics 48.18 vs 42.93, ELA 49.39 vs 48.47, and science 44.55 vs 43.20. Results do swing year to year; social studies jumped sharply while ELA, math, and science slipped from the prior year, though all stayed above state averages.
Salem Elementary has a split profile. Upper-grade math and science are real strengths — 8th-grade math scored 69.00 vs 53.67 statewide, and 6th- and 7th-grade math also beat the state. Early reading is the weak spot: 4th-grade ELA 43.48 vs 53.87, 3rd-grade ELA 42.71 vs 52.08, and 8th-grade ELA 47.00 vs 54.38. Its rank has slipped from the 63rd percentile in 2023–24 to 49th, then 42nd, with the rating falling from 3 stars to 2. It enrolls a higher share of students from low-income families (32.37% vs 12.3% free/reduced lunch), spends more per student ($15,295 vs $14,273), and has a lower student-teacher ratio (14.4 vs 18.5). Both schools report 0.0% dropout and absenteeism below the state average.
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