The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in Social studies. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Arcadia Elementary
Arcadia Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in the Arcadia School District, a regular public school sitting in the small city of Arcadia in Trempealeau County. The school is one of three in the district, which also includes a middle school and a high school, and because it only covers the early elementary grades, there is no graduation rate or other secondary milestone to report.
Arcadia itself is a Latino-majority city that grew rapidly over the first decades of this century, driven by immigrant arrivals. It is the county’s largest city and a mix of industrial and residential life. Ashley Furniture Industries has its world headquarters here, and Pilgrim’s Pride runs a poultry processing plant, alongside a range of international companies and many smaller businesses, including about twenty Latino-owned small businesses as of recent years. The city’s housing market shows that home values have risen over the past year, and the typical home price sits below the state benchmark, making the area more affordable than many Wisconsin communities. The broader economic context includes a moderate mortgage rate and a stable national unemployment rate.
The student body at Arcadia Elementary is heavily composed of Hispanic or Latino students, with a smaller share of white students and a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. A large majority of the school’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a reflection of the economic realities of the community. Data on the share of students who are English learners or who receive special education services was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures.
Academically, the school participates in Wisconsin’s Forward assessments in grades three and four. Across all tested subjects, proficiency rates are below the midpoint among districts in Trempealeau County. When placed against other districts in the county, overall proficiency lands in the bottom quartile. In both third-grade and fourth-grade math, fewer than one in three students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, the rates are similar, with fourth-grade ELA slightly lower than third. Fourth-grade science shows the lowest proficiency rate of any subject tested, and fourth-grade social studies is closer to the math and ELA results. Participation rates were high, meaning nearly all students took the tests, so the results reflect the full tested population.
The school environment data is thin. No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access, in large part because the school serves only primary grades, where many of those metrics are not tracked in the same way as in secondary schools. The locale description points to a small-town setting with parks, a library, and a municipal utilities system, but no public transit. The school buildings are part of a single district campus model, with elementary, middle, and high schools all in the same town.
For a family considering Arcadia Elementary, the academic profile is one where most students are not yet meeting state benchmarks in reading, math, and science. The school serves a population with high economic need and a predominantly Hispanic student body. The community offers significant manufacturing and processing employment, and the housing market is more accessible than the state average. A parent may want to learn more about supports for English learners and students with disabilities, and about any recent initiatives the district has undertaken, as the publicly available record did not show major recent changes.
See more original research from School Decision →