Three Lakes Elementary, Three Lakes WI

Original Research by School Decision on Three Lakes Elementary

Three Lakes Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the Three Lakes School District, a small, rural Northwoods district. The school sits in a town that has moved through logging, potato farming, and tourism economies. Tourism remains the primary industry, though the town is actively working to diversify into light manufacturing, agriculture, technology, and remote work, supported by investments in high-speed broadband. Housing values in the area are above the national median, reflecting the recreational and vacation-home character of the region, and the town has a high share of seasonal properties.

The student body is small and overwhelmingly white, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves only elementary and middle grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and there is no data on students with disabilities or English learners. A parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports available.

State testing results across the most recent school year show a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates were solid in third, fourth, and sixth grades, with a clear majority of students meeting the state’s bar. Fifth-grade math was a softer spot, with proficiency substantially lower. In English language arts, the pattern was similar: third, fourth, and sixth grades posted strong results, while fifth grade again showed a much weaker outcome. Fourth-grade science and social studies results were both strong. The overall proficiency index, which averages across all tested subjects and grades, places Three Lakes Elementary in the top quartile among the small number of districts in Oneida County. The variability from grade to grade, particularly the drop in fifth grade in both math and reading, is something a parent may want to explore with the school to understand whether it reflects a cohort effect, a curriculum transition, or something else.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It does not serve high school grades, so there is no data on advanced coursework, career pathways, or dual-credit programs. The elementary program likely feeds into the district’s middle and high school, which would offer those opportunities later.

The Three Lakes School District did not have any recent parent-relevant changes, such as referenda, budget shifts, or curriculum overhauls, that were identified in publicly available records. The absence of a public record does not mean nothing changed; it means nothing rose to the level of a notable community event in the period reviewed.

For a family considering Three Lakes Elementary, the school offers a small, rural setting with generally strong academic results in most grades, a notable dip in fifth grade worth investigating, and a peer group that is economically diverse within a predominantly white community. The area itself is lake country with a seasonal tourism economy, limited walkability, and a town actively trying to attract newcomers through broadband and economic diversification.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 384%

School 84% · District 82% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 63% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 41% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 678%

School 78% · District 83% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 74% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 61% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 48% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median

Grade 674%

School 74% · District 75% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Science

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 66% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 71% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

This schoolThree Lakes 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-income80%Higher-income78%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income73%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income13%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income63%Higher-income80%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income80%Higher-income89%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income70%Higher-income82%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income50%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income75%Higher-income80%5 pp gap