The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in Social studies. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Northside Elementary
Northside Elementary serves students from four-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade in Sun Prairie, a fast-growing city within the Madison metropolitan area. It is one of several elementary schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District, a district that recently restructured its secondary education by splitting a single high school into two separate campuses. That change shifted attendance boundaries and high school options, but at the elementary level the immediate effect is that Northside students will eventually feed into one of those two high schools depending on where they live.
Sun Prairie itself has been one of Wisconsin’s fastest-growing communities, with a mix of historic downtown redevelopment around Cannery Square, large retail corridors anchored by stores like Costco and Target, and a growing base of employers in manufacturing, technology, and distribution. The school district is the city’s largest employer. Housing values in the area are well above the national median and above the statewide median as well, reflecting the region’s economic strength and proximity to Madison. Rent is similarly elevated. For a family considering a move, this is a place where strong job growth and amenities have pushed up the cost of living, and where the elementary school is part of a large, expanding district.
In the 2024-25 school year, Northside Elementary reported state test results in math, English language arts, science, and social studies across grades three through five. The overall picture is mixed, with a clear pattern of declining math proficiency as students move through the grades. In third grade roughly half of students met the state math standard, but by fourth grade that share was lower, and by fifth grade it dropped further. English language arts results varied by grade: fourth graders performed stronger than third or fifth graders, with a modestly higher share meeting the standard. In the subjects tested only in fourth grade, about half of students were proficient in science, and about three in five met the social studies standard. Participation rates were very high, so the results reflect nearly all enrolled students.
When placed alongside other school districts in Dane County, Northside’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quarter. That comparison is based on a mean of the school’s reported proficiency rates, so it captures a consistent pattern of performance that is lower than many of its nearby counterparts. A parent looking at these results may want to ask the school about the math trend in particular and what supports are in place for students as they progress.
Northside serves a student body that is diverse along several dimensions. Just under half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a notable share that indicates a substantial number of families within the attendance zone have lower household incomes. Racially and ethnically, the majority of students are white, but there are meaningful populations of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and multiracial students, giving the school a degree of diversity that reflects the community’s growth and changing demographics. The data did not include counts for students receiving special education services or English learner supports, so those details are not available here.
The school is a regular public elementary, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported. Program offerings beyond the standard curriculum were also not listed in the available data. For a family, Northside Elementary sits at the intersection of a fast-growing, relatively expensive suburb and a district that has been through a major reorganization at the high school level. The academic results suggest there is room for growth, particularly in math as students get older, and the school’s overall standing within the county is a softer point that merits a closer look. The school’s size is typical for an elementary in a district of this scale, and its diverse, majority-free-or-reduced-lunch population means it serves a wide range of economic backgrounds. Families who value being part of a growing community with extensive retail and employment options may find the area appealing, but they will want to understand the academic trajectory and what the school is doing to address it.
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