Rusd Montessori, Racine WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Rusd Montessori

RUSD Montessori is a regular public school within the Racine Unified School District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is a Montessori program housed in a single building on the south side of Racine, enrolling a moderate number of students for that grade band. The student body is predominantly White, with a substantial Hispanic minority and a smaller Black population; children of two or more races are also represented. About a modest share of students qualify for federal meal assistance.

State testing data from the Wisconsin Forward assessment shows an uneven pattern across grade levels. In the primary grades, proficiency rates in math and English language arts were lower, with less than half of third and fourth graders meeting the bar. By fifth grade the English results improved to a narrow majority proficient, while math remained soft. The most striking shift came in sixth grade, where a strong majority of students scored proficient or above in math, more than nine in ten were proficient in English, and other tested subjects also showed solid results. This suggests that the Montessori approach or the school’s academic trajectory may yield stronger outcomes in the upper elementary years. A parent may want to discuss with the school how it supports learning in the early grades, where the data is weaker.

On a broader measure comparing proficiency across all tested grades and subjects to other schools and districts in Racine County, RUSD Montessori placed in the bottom quarter. The comparison set includes high schools and other grade configurations, so the result is a rough signal rather than a direct peer-to-peer comparison.

Because the school serves only elementary and middle grades, there is no graduation rate. Information on special education and English learner populations was not reported, nor were data on chronic absenteeism, staffing, or discipline. The school’s status as a regular public school means it follows district policies; it is not a charter or magnet.

Racine itself is a mid-sized industrial city on Lake Michigan with a diverse population and a strong Danish heritage. The housing market in the zip code area shows home values roughly in line with the state median, and rents are moderate. The city has a downtown core with cultural amenities and a lakefront, but many neighborhoods are auto-oriented. The Racine Unified district has been navigating a long-running effort by two of its communities, Caledonia and Sturtevant, to secede and form their own districts. That effort, which began several years ago, remains active and could eventually shift attendance boundaries for families living in those areas, though the timeline is uncertain.

RUSD Montessori fits a family seeking a public Montessori program with a relatively small enrollment and a diverse but majority-White student body. The academic picture is mixed: the school’s upper elementary grades show strong results, but primary grades lag behind. That gap is worth exploring with the school. The surrounding city offers a mix of industrial employment, lakefront recreation, and modest housing costs, though the district’s ongoing boundary uncertainty adds a note of caution for families living in the secession-affected areas.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 26% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 24% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 21% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 18% · ▲ 53 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 767%

School 67% · District 26% · ▲ 40 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 26% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 31% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 29% · ▲ 28 pts above district

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

Grade 691%

School 91% · District 26% · ▲ 64 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 33% · ▲ 38 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 27% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 43% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

This schoolRacine Unified 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-income22%Higher-income45%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income59%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income86%Higher-income65%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income26%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income46%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income31%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income71%Higher-income65%6 pp gap