Clayton Elementary, Clayton WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Clayton Elementary

Clayton Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small rural village of Clayton, Wisconsin. It is the only elementary school in the Clayton School District, which houses all grades from 4K through twelve in a single building integrated into the village itself. The school is small, and the student body is overwhelmingly white, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The village of Clayton blends residential areas with manufacturing, retail, and commercial businesses. An active industrial park and TIF district support development, and Foremost Farms, a cheese factory, is a significant local employer. The population has been slightly declining, though the village has invested in utility infrastructure and offers housing rehabilitation loans. The school building, which received a major addition in recent years, sits within the village rather than on a separate campus, and the school functions as a community anchor. Car dependence is the norm, and recreational assets include nearby lakes and trails.

State testing data for the 2024-25 school year is available for grades three through five. In math, proficiency rates varied by grade. Third grade and fourth grade showed a majority of students meeting or exceeding the state standard, while fifth grade saw a smaller share reach that level. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: a majority of third and fourth graders were proficient, and fifth graders were evenly split between those who met the standard and those who did not. Fourth graders took science and social studies assessments; a majority were proficient in science, and a strong majority were proficient in social studies. Participation rates were full across all tested grades and subjects. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Polk County.

The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school is not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was available. Data on special education and English learner populations was not reported. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was also not available.

Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to the state and national benchmarks. The village offers CDBG housing rehabilitation loans for low- and moderate-income households, and median property values have risen recently. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes of note, so the school's programming and operations appear stable in the near term.

For a family considering Clayton Elementary, the picture is of a small, rural school where most students are white and a majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Academic results are mixed: fourth graders performed well across subjects, while fifth grade math was a soft spot. A parent may want to look into this further with the school. The village itself is quiet, with a manufacturing base, lakes and trails for recreation, and modest population trends. The school is the district's only building, so students move through elementary grades in the same facility where they will attend middle and high school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 24 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Science

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 10 pts above state median

This schoolClayton School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income57%Higher-income56%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income89%60 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income56%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income43%Higher-income56%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income89%60 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income22%9 pp gap