Best High Schools in Zip Code 53405

ZIP code 53405 in Racine, Wisconsin, contains one high school—Walden III High—serving grades 6–12 within Racine Unified School District. This single-school profile includes district and school accountability rankings, graduation, dropout, and chronic absenteeism rates, Forward Exam and ACT proficiency results for 2025–2026 and 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch, per-student spending, and student-teacher ratio.

The school stands out as a relative bright spot in a very low-ranked district. The district is ranked 411 of 432 districts, at the 5th percentile with 0 stars, while the school’s latest rank is 303 of 533, at the 43rd percentile with 2 stars. It was 208 of 431, 52nd percentile, 3 stars in 2024–2025. The school beat its district on 11 of 12 tests in 2025–2026 and all 12 in 2024–2025, but it was above the state on only 2 of 12 tests each year. Completion outcomes are strong: graduation is 94.4% versus the district’s 85.3% and state’s 92.0%, and dropout is 0.1% versus 2.0% district and 1.1% state. Chronic absenteeism is 20.8%, better than the district’s 36.5% but above the state’s 17.3%. Resources: 42.05% free/reduced lunch, $15,340 per student, 16.2:1 ratio.

Math is the clearest weakness. In 2025–2026, 6th-grade math was 25.26% versus 53.60% state, 7th-grade 22.94% versus 55.67%, 8th-grade 22.02% versus 53.67%, and ACT math 18.84% versus 42.93%; ACT math fell 19.80 points from 38.64%. ACT ELA is a strength: 53.62% versus 48.47% state in 2025–2026 and 59.09% versus 48.62% in 2024–2025. Tenth-grade Social Studies improved from 46.91% to 55.32%, above state. Science became a warning sign: 8th-grade Forward Science was 37.61% versus 51.86% state, and ACT Science dropped from 44.32%—slightly above state—to 33.33%, below state. ELA is mixed: 7th and 8th grades were above district but below state, while 6th-grade ELA fell from 39.81% to 26.32%, below both. Overall, the school is a district outperformer with strong graduation and dropout outcomes, but remains below state averages in most subjects; strengths are ACT ELA, 10th-grade Social Studies, and completion, while challenges are math at all levels, recent ACT math and science declines, 6th-grade ELA, and chronic absenteeism above the state average.