The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Social studies. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Phillips Elementary
Phillips Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small city of Phillips, the county seat of Price County in northern Wisconsin. The community began as a logging town and retains a compact, car-dependent character set among lakes and northwoods terrain. The school is part of the Phillips School District, which also includes a middle and high school on a campus that appears integrated within the city rather than separated from it.
With an enrollment that is small for a PK-5 building, Phillips Elementary draws a student body that is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students, students of two or more races, and smaller representations of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A very modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is low compared to many rural districts nationally. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available in the state reporting.
State testing results from the Wisconsin Forward assessment offer a mixed picture for parents assessing academic performance. In mathematics, proficiency rates rose across the tested grades: performance was in the middle range in third grade, dipped somewhat in fourth grade, and rose to a stronger level in fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was flatter, with proficiency rates close to each other across the three tested grades, all sitting in a moderate range. On the fourth-grade science assessment, proficiency was below a majority level. Fourth-grade social studies was a relative strength, with proficiency notably higher than the same cohort’s results in other subjects.
When placed against the small set of districts in Price County, Phillips Elementary’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades landed in the bottom quartile among the county’s three districts. A parent reading this should note that the comparison group is narrow, and the difference between the district with the highest index and the lowest is not wide, but the position does indicate that the school is on the lower end of local academic outcomes.
The school itself is a regular public school and not a charter or magnet. The district was not found to have undergone any recent high-impact changes that were publicly reported, so the programs and staffing a family encounters now are likely consistent with recent years. Phillips Elementary serves students for the elementary grades only, so there is no graduation rate to evaluate here, and no high school course access data applies.
For a family considering Phillips, the housing context is relevant. The local housing values are moderate and notably lower than the state median, and the area has seen modest appreciation over the past year. The median household income in the community sits below the national figure. The homeownership rate suggests a mix of owners and renters. The city is a drive-to setting, with an average commute time that reflects the rural northwoods geography. Residents rely on cars, and daily amenity access is limited to what the small downtown and nearby county seat functions provide.
Phillips Elementary is a known quantity in a stable district. Its academic results are uneven, with social studies as a clear bright spot and math and English language arts hovering in mixed territory. The school does not offer the breadth of advanced programs or pathways that a larger suburban school might, but it serves its community with full participation on state testing days and a very low share of students qualifying for economic assistance. A parent moving to the area should look into how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency benchmarks, as the state data suggests that many students in the tested grades are performing below the proficient level in several subjects.
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