Cochrane-fountain City Elementary, Fountain City WI

Original Research by School Decision on Cochrane-fountain City Elementary

Cochrane-Fountain City Elementary is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through sixth grade in the Cochrane-Fountain City School District, located in Fountain City, a small Mississippi River town in Buffalo County. The school sits on State Road 35, the Great River Road, in a community where the built fabric is extremely narrow, pressed between river and bluff, with a historic downtown core. The town's economy relies on agriculture and tourism, with the US Army Corps of Engineers maintaining a service base nearby. Merrick State Park and the Great River State Trail provide outdoor recreation. The area is stable to declining in population, and no major new housing developments were identified in search results.

The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves roughly its current enrollment across grades PK through six, with enrollments distributed fairly evenly across the elementary grades and a slightly smaller preschool cohort.

On the most recent Wisconsin Forward assessments, math proficiency varied noticeably by grade. Third graders and fifth graders performed at levels that would be considered strong, with roughly three-quarters and two-thirds of students respectively meeting or exceeding the state standard. Fourth grade math was a softer spot, with about two-fifths of students reaching proficiency. Sixth grade math fell between those poles, with over half proficient. In English language arts, the school showed a more consistent pattern across the tested grades. Third, fifth, and sixth grade all posted results where roughly six in ten students were proficient or above. Fourth grade ELA trailed those levels, with just under half of students proficient. Science and social studies are assessed only in fourth grade, and here the school performed solidly: about six in ten students were proficient in science, and roughly three-quarters were proficient in social studies.

When measured against other districts in Buffalo County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile. This positions Cochrane-Fountain City Elementary as a relatively strong performer within its local peer group. The school serves no high school grades, so no graduation rate applies. Chronic absenteeism data was not available for this school.

The district brief turned up no major changes such as referenda, property-tax shifts, or curriculum overhauls that were publicly reported in recent years. A parent looking into Cochrane-Fountain City Elementary will find a small, rural elementary school where state test results are generally solid, with some variation by grade and subject, particularly in fourth-grade math and ELA where additional inquiry into instruction or student supports may be warranted. The school's location in a narrow river town with a modest tourism economy and stable population means families should expect a setting that is small and quiet rather than growing or dynamic. The district spans multiple communities, so school facilities may be situated outside the downtown core itself.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 2 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Science

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 11 pts above state median

This schoolCochrane-Fountain City 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-income89%Higher-income50%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income43%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income57%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income89%Higher-income69%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income48%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income67%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income64%31 pp gap