The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in Social studies. The lowest is 73% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Woodside Elementary
Woodside Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade in Sussex, within the Hamilton School District. It is a regular public school, and its enrollment is large for a primary school. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, Hispanic, and Black students, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native and two-or-more-races students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.
State testing results from the Wisconsin Forward exam show a school that generally performs at a strong level, though there is a meaningful drop-off between third and fourth grade in math. In third grade, a large majority of students scored proficient or above in math. By fourth grade, that share falls to a lower level. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: third-grade proficiency is high, and fourth-grade proficiency is lower, though the decline is not as sharp as in math. Fourth graders also take science and social studies assessments. In science, more than seven in ten students scored proficient or above. In social studies, more than eight in ten did. Participation rates on all tests were very high. The school’s overall proficiency, averaging across tested subjects and grades, places it below the midpoint among districts in Waukesha County. That is a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the school, especially to understand what drives the decline from third to fourth grade in math.
Because Woodside ends at grade four, there are no high school outcomes to report here: no graduation rate, no college-going data, no advanced coursework offerings. Those measures apply to the secondary schools in the Hamilton School District, which Woodside feeds into.
The school is located in Sussex, a suburban village in Waukesha County roughly a half-hour northwest of Milwaukee. Sussex has been growing steadily, with a population increase over the past several years, and its housing stock is dominated by single-family homes with a high ownership rate and a median home value that is elevated relative to state and national benchmarks. The village is a regional employment node, anchored by the headquarters of Quad, formerly Quad/Graphics, and historically by a Kraft Foods manufacturing plant that has since closed. Manufacturing remains the largest industry sector, followed by retail trade and health care. The village’s built environment is car-dependent, though the Bugline Trail, a paved rail trail, runs through it, and the village maintains a number of parks and nature preserves. The Hamilton School District’s facilities are spread across Sussex on separate campuses rather than concentrated in a downtown core. The district recently secured voter approval for a non-recurring operational referendum, which allows it to exceed state revenue limits for several years to support general operations and preserve programs. That is a direct factor in the school’s financial stability and has implications for local property taxes during that period.
Woodside is a large primary school with a relatively advantaged student population, located in a growing suburban village with strong housing demand and a significant local employment base. Its state test results are mixed: third-grade performance is a clear strength, but fourth-grade math proficiency drops, and the school’s overall standing is below the median among county districts. For a family considering this school, the primary years look solid in early literacy and numeracy, with a notable question mark around the fourth-grade math results. The lack of data on special education and English learner populations means a family with a child who might need those services should ask the school directly. The path through the Hamilton School District beyond fourth grade, into the intermediate school, middle school, and high school, is a separate consideration, and the district’s operating referendum speaks to how the community has chosen to fund it.
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