Parkside School, Wautoma WI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Parkside School

Parkside School is a regular public school in Wautoma, Wisconsin, serving fourth through eighth grade as part of the Wautoma Area School District. It sits in a small city that is the county seat of Waushara County, a place of modest size with a traditional downtown, a seasonal tourism economy tied to surrounding lakes and outdoor recreation, and a history of calling itself the Christmas tree capital of the world. Home values in the area are below both the state and national medians, and the housing market reflects a lower-cost region overall. Publicly reported information about new housing developments or major growth in the town was not found, so the context is one of a stable, lightly growing small community.

The school’s academic performance on Wisconsin’s Forward assessments across the 2024-25 school year shows a mixed but generally solid picture. Looking at the overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades, Parkside sits above the midpoint among the three districts in Waushara County. In math, proficiency rates vary by grade: a notable share of students meet state standards in some grades, while other grade levels show lower attainment. English language arts proficiency rates cluster around half of students meeting the bar, with some grades a bit higher and others a bit lower. In science and social studies, roughly half of tested students score at or above the proficient level. Taken together, the school typically sees a meaningful portion of its students hitting state benchmarks, though performance is not uniformly high across every grade and subject. A family interested in specific grade-level results may want to look into those details further with the school.

The student body is largely White, with a substantial Hispanic minority and very small groups identifying as Asian, Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or two or more races. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating significant economic need in the community. Counts for students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available data, so it is not possible to describe those populations here. The school’s moderate total enrollment creates a middle-school setting that is large enough to offer a range of peer interactions but not so large that a student would feel anonymous.

Because Parkside ends at eighth grade, there is no four-year graduation rate to report. The absence of discipline, attendance, and staffing data means a parent who wants to understand school climate or teacher experience would need to ask the school directly. No recent referenda, curriculum changes, or construction projects were publicly identified for the district in the time frame searched, so the organizational context appears quiet and stable.

For a family considering this school, the core picture is a middle school in a small county-seat town where academic proficiency is around the midpoint of local peers, economic need is high, and housing is relatively affordable. The school serves a community where many children come from lower-income homes, and the academic results suggest a fair number of students are meeting state standards, though there are grades where math and reading proficiency dip. This is a school that fits families who want a straightforward public school experience in a small-town setting, who value knowing their children’s peers and teachers in a manageable-sized building, and who are prepared to engage with the school about the supports available for students who may need extra help.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 40% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 40% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 10 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 49% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 42% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Science

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 46% · ▲ 6 pts above district

even with state median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▼ 9 pts below state median

This schoolWautoma 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 4Lower-income39%Higher-income74%35 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income60%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income58%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income60%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income62%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income58%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income56%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income42%Higher-income72%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income60%33 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income62%33 pp gap