Thorp Elementary, Thorp WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Thorp Elementary

Thorp Elementary, located in the small city of Thorp in Clark County, Wisconsin, is a regular public school serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is the sole elementary and middle-level campus within the Thorp School District, which consolidates all students under one roof in a single building that also houses the high school. This is a rural, small-district model where the school sits at the center of town life, integrated into the community rather than set apart on a distant campus.

The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a modest Hispanic population and a small share of students who identify as two or more races. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that reflects the economic reality of a community with a working agricultural and manufacturing heritage. The school's enrollment is distributed across all grades from kindergarten through eighth, with class sizes that are generally moderate and sometimes larger in the upper grades.

On state assessments, Thorp Elementary presents a mixed picture that varies notably by grade and subject. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises steadily from the lower elementary grades into middle school, with a peak in sixth grade before settling at a lower level in eighth grade. The early elementary results, particularly in third grade, are a soft spot, and a parent may want to discuss with the school how early math skills are being supported. English language arts proficiency follows a similar pattern, with third grade again the weakest year; results strengthen considerably by seventh and eighth grade, where a clear majority of students are meeting the bar. In science, performance improves sharply from fourth to eighth grade, and in social studies, a solid majority of students in both tested grades score at the proficient level or above. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the top quartile when compared with other districts in Clark County, indicating that despite the weaker early-grade results, the school as a whole performs relatively well within its local context.

Because Thorp Elementary serves only through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school is not a charter or magnet, and data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing, and course access were not available for this profile. A parent looking into student supports or school climate may want to ask the school directly for that information.

The community of Thorp is a compact small town along Highway 29 between Eau Claire and Wausau, with a traditional downtown, a strong Polish immigrant heritage, and civic institutions such as a public library, a historical museum, and St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church. The local housing market is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, and the area has seen modest population stability with a slight decline in recent years. No major new development or recent district-level changes were identified in publicly reported sources.

For a family considering Thorp Elementary, the main takeaway is a school that serves the full pre-K through eighth-grade span in a small-town setting, with academic performance that is generally strong by local standards but with a notable early-grade dip in both math and reading that warrants attention. The peer environment is homogeneous and economically mixed, the school is walkable from the downtown core, and the community offers the quiet, family-oriented rhythm of rural Wisconsin life.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 28 pts below state median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 65% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 68% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 3 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 51% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 44% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Science

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 9 pts above state median

This schoolThorp 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-income35%Higher-income27%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income50%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income48%Higher-income62%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income56%Higher-income25%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income56%Higher-income72%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income62%Higher-income55%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income18%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income75%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income65%Higher-income69%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income75%Higher-income63%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income64%Higher-income78%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income65%27 pp gap