Best High Schools in Zip Code 53948

ZIP code 53948 covers Mauston, Wisconsin, and contains three high-school-level schools — Mauston High, Lemonweir Academy, and iLEAD Charter School — all part of the Mauston School District, with 513 students enrolled across them. Mauston High serves grades 9–12 and is the largest by far, with 365 students — about 71% of the total. Lemonweir Academy (83 students) and iLEAD Charter School (65 students) both serve grades 6–12, so some of their reported results are middle-school grades rather than high-school grades.

Mauston High is the strongest performer overall. Its graduation rate is 95.1%, above the district's 93.5% and the state's 92.0%, and its dropout rate is 0.0%. Chronic absenteeism is 17.2%, essentially level with the state's 17.3%. Its school rank rose from 262 of 431 (39th percentile, 2 stars) in 2023–2024 to a peak of 100 of 431 (77th percentile, 4 stars) in 2024–2025, then settled at 180 of 533 (66th percentile, 3 stars) in 2025–2026. Its ACT scores remain above the state in English language arts, math, and science, though ELA proficiency dropped from 64.56% to 50.63% year over year.

The two smaller schools are more mixed. iLEAD Charter School posted standout social studies results — 83.33% in 10th grade in 2025–2026 — but 16.67% across all 8th grade subjects that year, and it has the lowest graduation rate (84.6%) and highest dropout rate (1.6%). Lemonweir Academy faces the greatest challenges: 72.29% free/reduced lunch, 23.4% chronic absenteeism, a student-teacher ratio of 41.5, a 10th-percentile rank with 1 star, and 0% ACT math and science proficiency, though its 10th grade social studies score of 50% was slightly above the state. Notably, Lemonweir spends slightly more per student ($16,181) than Mauston High ($16,118), while iLEAD spends the least ($13,011) — spending alone does not track outcomes here. Because the smaller schools enroll so few students, some percentages reflect very small groups and can swing widely year to year.