Summary:
ZIP code 53558 (McFarland, Wisconsin) is home to three elementary-level schools, all within the McFarland School District, together serving 2,331 students across grades PK through 8: Wisconsin Virtual Academy K-8 (WIVA), Waubesa Intermediate, and McFarland Primary School.
The two brick-and-mortar schools look very different from each other. Waubesa Intermediate (grades 3–5, 489 students) is the clear academic standout, ranked 204 of 1,039 Wisconsin schools in 2025–26 (80th percentile, 4 stars), and it has held 4 stars for three straight years. Its 2025–26 proficiency averages—68.9% ELA, 69.7% math, 75.8% social studies, 65.8% science—beat district and state averages by double digits in every subject. WIVA (PK–8, 1,393 students) is the largest school here, enrolling 59.8% of all students, but ranks 864 of 1,039 (17th percentile, 1 star). Its 2025–26 averages (35.1% ELA, 25.9% math, 46.4% social studies, 33.3% science) trail district and state by wide margins, with math the biggest gap. Even so, WIVA improved in every subject over 2024–25, including a 9-point math gain and a 12.7-point social studies gain.
McFarland Primary School (PK–2, 449 students) has no state test scores or rank because its grades fall outside state testing, which is expected rather than a weakness. It posts the most favorable operational figures in the group: an 11.3-to-1 student-teacher ratio, $22,595 per-pupil spending, and a 12.69% free/reduced lunch rate. By contrast, WIVA reports a 22-to-1 ratio, $14,456 in spending, and a 68.13% free/reduced lunch rate. Because WIVA spans PK–8, its enrollment and test data are not directly comparable to the PK–5 schools, and its reported 0.0% chronic absenteeism likely reflects different virtual-school attendance accounting.
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