Horizon School, Pewaukee WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Horizon School

Horizon School serves third through fifth grade within the Pewaukee School District, sitting on a shared campus that also houses Pewaukee Lake Elementary, Asa Clark Middle School, and the high school. This is a regular public school, not a charter, and the campus arrangement means families with children at multiple grade levels have a single drop-off and pickup point. The school draws from a community that blends residential neighborhoods, lakefront recreation, and a mix of corporate and industrial employers, including the world headquarters of Harken, a sailboat gear manufacturer, and the main campus of Waukesha County Technical College. The City of Pewaukee and the separately governed Village of Pewaukee together form a place whose identity is shaped by Pewaukee Lake, a large natural body of water used for fishing, boating, and sailing races.

Enrollment at Horizon is substantial for a school serving only three grade levels, and the student body is predominantly white, with Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students each making up a modest share of the population. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low, reflecting the area’s overall economic profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a parent looking into special education supports or language services would need to ask the school directly for those numbers.

On the Wisconsin Forward Exam, Horizon’s results show a clear pattern. In both math and English language arts, third graders posted the highest proficiency rates, followed by fifth graders, while fourth graders hit a noticeable dip in both subjects. That fourth-grade year is also when students take the science and social studies assessments, and here the social studies results were solidly above the midpoint of proficiency, while science was lower. Across all tested grades and subjects taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index lands below the midpoint of districts in Waukesha County, a county where the top-tier districts post very high numbers. A parent should know that fourth grade appears to be a tougher year academically at this school, and if your child is entering that grade, it may be worth asking what supports are in place for the transition.

Because Horizon only serves grades three through five, there is no graduation rate, no data on chronic absenteeism, and no information on AP or dual-credit offerings those are features that belong to the high school, not this building. The school’s participation rates on state tests were very high, which means the results are a reliable read on what students know.

The housing market in the Pewaukee area is expensive relative to national benchmarks, with home values and rents well above typical levels, a pattern consistent with the broader Milwaukee suburbs. The local market showed modest increases in active listings and median list prices, though homes stayed on the market slightly longer than a year earlier. For a family moving into the district, the cost of housing is a real factor.

The district itself made a recent athletic conference change: Pewaukee High School’s football team moved from the Woodland Conference to the Classic 8 Conference starting in the 2024-25 school year. This is a minor shift but one that families with middle or high school athletes may care about. No major curriculum changes, tax referendums, or boundary adjustments were reported for the district.

For a family considering Horizon, the key takeaway is that this is a school with strong third-grade performance, a dip in fourth grade that bears watching, and a demographic profile that reflects the surrounding community’s relative affluence. The shared campus and the lake-area setting are the defining physical features. A parent who values high participation in testing and wants to understand why the fourth-grade scores trail the rest should plan to have that conversation with the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 381%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 21 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 16 pts above state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 77%

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

This schoolPewaukee 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-income59%Higher-income79%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income72%42 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income78%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income64%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income65%Higher-income82%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income71%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income77%39 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income68%23 pp gap