Franklin Elementary, Wausau WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Elementary

Franklin Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Wausau School District, on the north side of the city. Wausau sits on the Wisconsin River in central Wisconsin and functions as the county seat of Marathon County, a regional hub for manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, tourism, and American ginseng cultivation. The city has a significant Hmong American community and a mix of residential neighborhoods, a redeveloped downtown core, and industrial areas. Franklin’s immediate location is a short distance from the downtown area, placing it within reach of the city’s parks, the Grand Theater, and the whitewater kayak course on the Wisconsin River.

The school enrolls a small student body for its grade band. The student population is racially and ethnically diverse: about half of students are white, with a significant Asian cohort, a sizable Hispanic group, and a notably large share of students who identify as two or more races. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a high level of economic need in the attendance zone. Information on the number of students receiving special education services or English learner support was not available in the data; families who need those programs should confirm directly with the school.

On the Wisconsin Forward assessments, Franklin’s proficiency rates vary by subject and grade. In mathematics, the share of students scoring at the proficient or advanced level was in the lower range across grades three through five, with grade five showing the lowest result. English language arts proficiency was somewhat higher, particularly in grades three and four, while grade five again lagged. Fourth graders took science and social studies assessments, and in both subjects a larger portion of students met the proficiency benchmark. Participation in testing was complete across all grades and subjects. Compared with other districts in Marathon County, Franklin’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quarter of the comparison set. That comparison looks at district-level performance, and because Franklin is a single school within a larger district, the figure reflects the school’s own results rather than a full district average. Still, the outcome signals that academic achievement at Franklin is notably below the midpoint among Marathon County’s districts.

The Wausau School District has undertaken a major restructuring in recent years. Publicly reported plans proposed closing several elementary schools, including Franklin, and shifting grade configurations across the district. The current district website lists fewer elementary schools than before, indicating the consolidation was at least partially implemented. Franklin itself remains open and reported test results for the 2024–25 school year, but families considering the school should know that the district’s footprint and feeder patterns have recently changed. The nature of that change may affect a given child’s pathway to middle and high school, and a parent may want to verify Franklin’s current status and any future plans with the district office.

No data was available on programs such as art, music, languages, or after-school offerings, nor on staffing ratios, discipline rates, or chronic absenteeism. These are common gaps for elementary-level profiles, but they are worth asking about on a school tour.

Franklin Elementary is a high-poverty, diverse neighborhood school with modest academic results relative to surrounding districts. Its strengths include full testing participation and a science and social studies performance that is noticeably stronger than its math and English scores. A parent weighing this school may want to look into the district’s consolidation timeline, the availability of support for students learning English or receiving special education, and how the school’s peer environment and resources match their child’s needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 50% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 51% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 51% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 51% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 51% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 50% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Science

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 64% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

This schoolWausau 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-income36%Higher-income67%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income69%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income57%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income27%Higher-income50%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income56%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income43%29 pp gap