Dousman Elementary, Dousman WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dousman Elementary

Dousman Elementary serves students from four-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade and is one of the elementary schools in the Kettle Moraine School District, which covers parts of Waukesha County. The school sits in the village of Dousman, a small community about 35 miles west of Milwaukee in the region known as Lake Country. Dousman has grown considerably through boundary agreements that expanded its land area, and today includes a mix of single-family homes and multi-family units, with housing values that are notably higher than state and national averages. The village retains a distinct identity tied to its railroad origins and hosts the Glacial Drumlin Trail, which runs through the downtown. Parents moving into the area should be aware that the district recently passed a facilities bond and a recurring operating referendum, both approved by voters, and that Cushing Elementary was closed at the end of the 2023–24 school year as part of a restructuring effort, with students consolidated into other elementary buildings. That closure could affect attendance boundaries for families looking at this school.

The student population is small, with an enrollment that fits a typical elementary in a village of this size. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and a very small number of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Information on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner support was not available in the data examined. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is low relative to many statewide schools and consistent with the area's elevated housing costs.

State testing results from the Forward assessment show a varied picture across grade levels and subjects. In third grade, about two-fifths of students scored proficient or above in both math and English language arts. By fourth grade, the share reaching that mark was notably higher: roughly three-quarters in math and nearly two-thirds in English language arts. Fifth grade math proficiency fell back to about three-fifths, while fifth grade English language arts held near that same level. The strongest result came in fourth grade science, where more than three-quarters of students were proficient, and fourth grade social studies was also strong, with roughly three-quarters scoring proficient. Taken together, the overall proficiency rate across all tested subjects and grades places Dousman Elementary in the bottom quarter when compared with other schools in Waukesha County districts. That is a soft spot, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the context behind the third grade results and how the school supports early elementary learners.

The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate or college readiness measures apply. No chronic absenteeism data was available in the reviewed sources. The school is a regular public school and not a charter or magnet. No specific program offerings such as dual language or STEM magnet were present in the data, so those are not described here.

Dousman Elementary offers a small, community-anchored setting where families can walk to the downtown trail access and parks. The district's recent operating referendum provides recurring revenue that may support programming, and the facilities bond will address capital needs across district buildings, though the specific projects at this school were not detailed. For families weighing this school, the combination of a low free-lunch rate, high local housing costs, and test results that are strong in fourth grade but weaker overall relative to the county suggests a school that serves a generally well-off population but may have room to strengthen academic outcomes in the early primary years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 66% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 74% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 64% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 74% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 75% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 74% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 472%

School 72% · District 81% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolKettle Moraine 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-income22%Higher-income49%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income65%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income11%Higher-income51%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income76%33 pp gap