Monroe Elementary, Manitowoc WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Monroe Elementary

Monroe Elementary sits in a residential neighborhood on Manitowoc’s south side, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Manitowoc School District. It is one of several elementary schools in a mid-sized Great Lakes port city whose economy has long been anchored in manufacturing, shipbuilding, and food processing. The city has a walkable downtown along the Manitowoc River with museums, a marina, and a restored riverwalk trail, while much of the retail growth has clustered near the interstate corridor on the southwest side. The overall texture is working waterfront and historic neighborhoods, with a mix of older housing stock and newer retail development.

The school’s enrollment is modest for its grade band, drawing from a surrounding area that is economically diverse. More than half of students come from households eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that points to a significant level of economic need. The student body itself is varied: about half the students are white, with notable representation of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. No data was available on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status, so a family with specific questions about special education services or language support would need to follow up directly with the school.

On state assessments, Monroe Elementary’s proficiency rates across math, English language arts, science, and social studies sit below the midpoint when placed against other districts in Manitowoc County. The overall proficiency index, which averages results from all tested subjects and grades, falls in the bottom quartile of the six-district county comparison. In math, the proportion of students scoring proficient or above rises across grades but remains modest, and in ELA the pattern is similar, with roughly a third of students meeting the bar. Science and social studies results for fourth grade show somewhat higher performance in social studies, where just over half of students reached proficiency, but science trails behind. These are the only tested grades—kindergarten through second grade do not take the state assessments, so there is no public data on the earliest academic foundation.

The school’s academic context is thus one where typical proficiency is on the lower side relative to local peers. A parent considering the school may want to discuss with the principal or teaching staff how the school addresses those gaps, what interventions or supports are in place, and whether the school has made recent changes aimed at improving outcomes. The data does not show trends over multiple years, so it is not possible to say whether scores are improving or declining.

Within the district, the most notable recent change for elementary families was the closure in 2023 of the Manitowoc County Comprehensive Charter School, which had served grades one through eight. That closure reduced the number of public school options within the district for this age range. Monroe Elementary does not have a charter or magnet designation, and the data provided does not include information about specialized programs, course offerings beyond the standard curriculum, or staffing ratios. Families looking for before- or after-school programs, art or music emphasis, or other enrichment would need to gather that information from the school directly.

Monroe Elementary is a neighborhood school in a city with a strong industrial heritage and a downtown that has seen reinvestment. The housing market in the area is moderate relative to national benchmarks, with home values that have been rising but remain below the state median in recent years, making the community accessible for many buyers. The city’s public bus system connects neighborhoods to downtown and the lakefront, though outside the core the area is car-dependent. For a family weighing school fit, the central question is whether the academic profile—modest relative to county peers—matches their priorities, and what additional layers of support and opportunity the school can offer beyond the scores.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 36% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 43% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 37% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 40% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 39% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 42% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

This schoolManitowoc 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-income14%Higher-income53%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income40%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income19%Higher-income53%34 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income40%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income4%Higher-income37%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income11%Higher-income44%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income53%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income53%33 pp gap