State Road Elementary, La Crosse WI

Original Research by School Decision on State Road Elementary

State Road Elementary is a regular public school in La Crosse, Wisconsin, serving students from prekindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the La Crosse School District, a mid-sized district in a city that blends residential neighborhoods with a strong college-town presence—home to the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College. The school draws from a surrounding area that mixes older homes and newer subdivisions, with the La Crosse River marshland and bluffs shaping the geography.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller but noticeable shares of Asian, Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic diversity. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show a mixed picture. In math, third-grade performance was a little above half proficient, while fourth grade was just under half and fifth grade was exactly half. English language arts results varied by grade: third grade was just over two-fifths proficient, fourth grade approached three-fifths, and fifth grade landed just under half. Fourth-grade science came in at about half proficient, and fourth-grade social studies was the strongest subject, with a solid majority meeting the bar. Overall, across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter relative to other districts in La Crosse County. That is a soft spot worth noting, though the social studies result shows that not every subject is equally challenging.

Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data were also missing from the available records, so it is unclear how attendance patterns compare with other schools. Discipline statistics were not reported, either.

The housing market in the area reflects La Crosse’s role as a regional hub. Typical home values are above the national median, and rents follow a similar pattern, making the city a moderately priced market compared with larger metro areas. The city has seen slight population stagnation in recent estimates due to suburbanization, but it remains anchored by major employers in healthcare, manufacturing, and education, including Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic Health System, Trane, and Kwik Trip. The district itself, according to publicly reported information, has not undergone major recent changes that would disrupt school operations.

For families considering State Road, it offers a straightforward neighborhood elementary experience within a larger district. The student body is economically diverse but not especially so, and academic performance is modest, with a clear bright spot in fourth-grade social studies. The absence of data on special education and English learner services means those details need to be confirmed directly. The school’s setting in a river city with three colleges gives it a stable community context, though the limited outward growth suggests a fairly settled housing stock. A parent looking for a school where the core academics are average to slightly below the county median and the environment is that of a typical mid-sized public elementary will find this a grounded, if unexceptional, option.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 46% · ▲ 10 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 46% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 39% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 43% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 42% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 49% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 64% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolLa Crosse 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-income20%Higher-income52%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income55%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income54%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income27%Higher-income70%43 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income50%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income65%34 pp gap