Houlton Elementary, Houlton WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Houlton Elementary

Houlton Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Hudson School District in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. The school sits in the small, unincorporated community of Houlton, a low-density residential area along Wisconsin Highways 35 and 64, directly across the St. Croix River from Stillwater, Minnesota. The broader area is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region, and the community itself shows signs of an affluent, educated population.

The school’s student body is small. Its composition is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races. A small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating low economic diversity. The school does not serve a high enough grade band to produce a graduation rate, and state testing data for English learner and special education populations was not reported, leaving gaps in understanding how those groups perform.

On state assessments, Houlton Elementary delivers strong academic results that place its overall proficiency above the midpoint among districts in St. Croix County. In math, third-grade proficiency was solid, fourth-grade proficiency was very high, and fifth-grade proficiency remained strong. In English language arts, proficiency was strong in third grade, very high in fourth grade, and solid in fifth grade. Fourth-grade science proficiency was very high, and social studies proficiency in that grade was nearly universal. The pattern across tested grades and subjects is consistently strong, with fourth grade standing out as the highest-performing cohort.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It does not serve as a Title I school, which is consistent with the low share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The district is actively engaged in school closure planning and elementary boundary changes, a publicly reported process that could affect which elementary school a child in the district attends. Families looking at Houlton Elementary should be aware that attendance zones may shift as part of this review.

Housing values in the area are elevated relative to state and national benchmarks, reinforcing the picture of an affluent exurban community. The school itself is a local institutional anchor in a community without a traditional downtown, where civic functions are managed at the town of St. Joseph level. The texture is rural and highway-oriented, and most residents likely commute elsewhere for employment, given the very limited local commercial activity.

For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one of consistently high performance across subjects and grades, particularly in the middle elementary years. The peer environment is economically homogeneous. The school is small, which may appeal to families seeking a close-knit setting. The district’s ongoing boundary and closure planning adds an element of uncertainty for families who value knowing their long-term attendance zone. Families who want to understand how the school serves students with disabilities or English learners will find that state testing data does not provide that information for this school, and may wish to ask the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 65% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 496%

School 96% · District 78% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 76% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 66% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 63% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 68% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 64% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 498%

School 98% · District 77% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

This schoolHudson 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.