Sandhill Elementary, Stoughton WI

Original Research by School Decision on Sandhill Elementary

Sandhill Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Stoughton, a small city in Dane County, Wisconsin, about a short drive southeast of Madison. The school is a regular public elementary school, one of three in the Stoughton Area School District. Its building sits in a residential area near downtown Stoughton, a community with a strong Norwegian heritage and a mix of manufacturing employers, a historic downtown, and easy access to the Madison metro area.

State testing data is available for grades three through five. In math, results varied by grade. In the third grade, roughly two-thirds of students scored proficient or advanced on the Forward assessment, and performance rose in fourth grade where a larger share of students reached that level. Fifth grade math proficiency dropped somewhat from the fourth grade peak. English language arts results also showed variation across grades. In both third and fourth grades, about two-thirds of students scored proficient or advanced, but that share fell to just over half in fifth grade. Fourth grade science results were comparable, with roughly three in five students reaching proficiency. Social studies performance in fourth grade was a clear strength, with nearly three in four students scoring proficient or advanced. Compared to other districts in Dane County, Sandhill’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades fell above the midpoint of the county, a solid academic position for a school in this region.

The student population is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Hispanic, Black, and Asian. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common measure of economic need. Special population data, such as the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, was not available in the data provided, so a parent may want to ask the school about these supports directly.

The school operates in a community where the housing market reflects the desirability of the Madison region. Home values in the area are higher than the statewide median. That said, the school itself sits within a district that publicly reported adopting a brand new K-5 reading curriculum during the pandemic, a change that continues to shape how literacy is taught across all elementary grades. This gives families a clear picture of the instructional approach their child would experience.

Because Sandhill is an elementary school serving only kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high school level programs. The academic picture is based entirely on the state assessments administered in grades three through five, and the data shows a school where many students meet proficiency benchmarks, with particular strength in fourth grade math and social studies, and a soft spot in fifth grade English language arts that a parent may want to discuss with the school. Nothing in the data suggests a school under distress; instead, it reads as a typical strong elementary school within a mid-sized district in a growing region.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 62% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 486%

School 86% · District 73% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 61% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 61% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 59% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 59% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 71% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

This schoolStoughton Area 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-income60%Higher-income67%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income56%Higher-income79%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income58%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income76%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income79%Higher-income92%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income78%32 pp gap