Paris Elementary, Kenosha WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Paris Elementary

Paris Elementary sits in a rural pocket of Kenosha County, serving students from four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade as the sole school of the Paris J1 School District. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and draws its enrollment from a sparsely populated area of the city of Kenosha that feels more like countryside than suburb. For families considering this school, the first thing to know is its scale: the enrollment is modest for a PK-8 building, and each grade typically holds a single class section. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of Hispanic students and an even smaller number of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals a comparatively more affluent student population than many schools in the county.

Academically, Paris Elementary produces results that are above the midpoint across Kenosha County districts, landing in the top quartile on an overall proficiency index that averages performance across tested subjects and grades. That is a strong showing. Looking at the grade-level state test data, the school's performance varies by subject and grade, which is normal in a school this size where a single class's composition can shift results. In math, proficiency rates in the lower grades are solid, with third grade returning a high mark. By fifth and sixth grade, math proficiency drops off to a point that is more moderate, then recovers somewhat in seventh and eighth grade. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: the mid-elementary grades perform at a strong level, while seventh and eighth grade show noticeably lower proficiency. Science and social studies are tested only in fourth and eighth grade. Fourth graders posted very high proficiency rates in both subjects. Eighth graders in social studies had a more mixed result, with about half scoring at the proficient level, while eighth-grade science came in at a moderate level. The overall picture is of a school where early elementary performance is a clear strength, and where the later middle-grade years have more uneven results. A parent with a child entering the upper grades may want to ask the school how it addresses that dip.

The district has made recent changes that bear on the classroom experience. A school-wide curriculum called Think! is being implemented in grades one through eight, so every student in those grades is learning under the same instructional framework. Separately, teachers in kindergarten through third grade are beginning Keys to Beginning Reading training, which is driven by Wisconsin Act 20, the state's early literacy law. For a parent of an early elementary student, this means the school is explicitly reorganizing how reading is taught in those grades. The district also reduced its property tax levy rate from one year to the next, which was presented as a meaningful reduction for property owners.

The housing context is relevant for families deciding whether to move into the attendance area. Home values in the zip code that serves this area sit below the statewide benchmark, but have risen at a pace above the national rate of increase. Monthly rent is below the estimated mortgage payment for a median-priced home, which means renting is more affordable month-to-month than buying, a pattern that holds nationally but is starker here.

Because Paris Elementary serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer high-school-level advanced coursework or career pathways. Families will need to plan for where their child attends high school, which falls outside this district. Chronic absenteeism data was not reported in the available information, so it is unclear whether that is an issue at this school. Discipline and staffing data were also missing.

The school sits in the larger context of Kenosha, a mid-sized city whose economy has shifted from heavy manufacturing toward a mix of corporate headquarters, distribution centers, and healthcare. The lakefront area has been redeveloped with parks, museums, and a streetcar line, and the city's location between Milwaukee and Chicago continues to draw logistics and warehouse employers. For a family that values a small, rural-feeling school with strong early elementary test results and a relatively stable and low-poverty student body, Paris Elementary is a reasonable fit. The uneven middle-grade performance is the main thing a parent would want to understand better by talking to the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 64%

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

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 71%

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

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 60%

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

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 486%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 493%

School 93% · District 93%

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

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 59%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolParis J1 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-income50%Higher-income68%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income85%52 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income65%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income83%Higher-income77%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income81%52 pp gap