The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Gilmanton Elementary
Gilmanton Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in a small, rural, unincorporated farming community in Buffalo County’s Driftless Area. The school is part of the Gilmanton School District, and its campus on Larson Road sits a short distance from the highway junction that holds the post office and the community’s small cluster. The area is extremely low-density, with a population that has been static or slowly declining, and no significant new housing or commercial development was identified in publicly available records. The Gilmanton Free Fair, an annual event that raises funds for school and community projects, is a signature civic anchor. There is no traditional walkable downtown and no public library or public transit was found in search results. Most families in the surrounding countryside are likely familiar with the agricultural character of the region, and the school itself is one of the few institutional employers in the immediate area.
The school’s enrollment is small for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a very small number of students identifying as two or more races. No other racial or ethnic groups are represented in the reported enrollment data. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a meaningful portion of families face economic constraints. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the records reviewed.
State testing results are drawn from Wisconsin’s Forward Exam, and they show a mixed picture that parents will want to examine closely. In third-grade math, the share of students reaching proficient or above was strong, but in fourth-grade math the share was considerably lower. In English language arts, third-grade performance was also strong, while fourth-grade performance dropped to about half of students meeting the proficient bar. Fourth-grade science and social studies results fell in a similar middle range. Because the tested cohort at each grade level is very small, a handful of students can shift the overall rate noticeably. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, placed it below the midpoint relative to districts in Buffalo County. Participation rates were complete for every tested group, which lends confidence to the reported figures.
Because Gilmanton Elementary serves only early elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. That metric becomes relevant at the district’s high school, which serves grades nine through twelve on the same campus.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. No information on Title I status, discipline rates, course access, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism was available in the data provided. For a family considering this school, those are reasonable areas to raise with the district directly, particularly around class sizes and supports for students who may need additional academic help.
Overall, Gilmanton Elementary offers a very small, rural setting where a child moves through the earliest grades in a close-knit community. The academic results are uneven by grade and subject, and the small numbers mean year-to-year variation can be large. A parent weighing this school will want to understand how the school addresses the drop in fourth-grade performance and what academic support structures are in place, especially given the economic circumstances many families face. The broader community is quiet and agricultural, with limited amenities, and the school campus itself functions as a central civic hub.
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