Summary:
ZIP code 54499 has two public schools, both in the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District: Wittenberg Elementary (grades PK–8, 449 students) and Wittenberg-Birnamwood High (grades 9–12, 343 students). Together they serve 792 students. There is no standalone middle school or alternative school here, so the elementary building also covers the middle grades. The district overall ranks 355th of 432 Wisconsin districts — the 18th percentile, with 1 star.
The two schools look quite different. At the high school, completion measures are a strength: a 95.5% graduation rate and a 0.2% dropout rate, both better than the state's 92.0% and 1.1%. The elementary school's standout is attendance, with chronic absenteeism of 10.4%, better than the district's 11.7% and the state's 17.3%. The high school's chronic absenteeism is 15.4% — above the district but still below the state. The high school also spends more per student, $14,294 versus $12,072, though the elementary school has the higher free/reduced-lunch rate, 45.66% versus 41.69%. Student-teacher ratios are similar, at 14.4 and 14.9.
Academically, the picture is mixed and changing. The elementary school has been rated 1 star in each of the last three years and sits in the bottom quartile; its 2025–26 grade-level averages were roughly 35.6% in ELA and 40.6% in math, below district and state, while science (51.7%) and social studies (59.6%) were relative strengths. The high school reached 3 stars and the 63rd percentile in 2024–25, when its ACT results beat the state in ELA (58.14% vs. 48.62%), math (46.51% vs. 42.73%) and science (54.65% vs. 43.42%). In 2025–26 it fell to 2 stars and the 33rd percentile, below the state in all four reported subjects — social studies 33.77% vs. 48.25%, ACT ELA 42.11% vs. 48.47%, math 31.58% vs. 42.93%, and science 39.47% vs. 43.20%.
Thank you for your feedback!