The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Social studies. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Coon Valley Elementary
Coon Valley Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in the village of Coon Valley, a small rural community in Vernon County’s Driftless region. The school is part of the Westby Area School District, and its building sits within the village itself, integrated into the downtown area rather than on a separate campus. The village is surrounded by wooded bluffs and spring-fed trout streams, with a small commercial core and amenities such as Knutson Memorial Library, Veterans Memorial Park, and a bike trail. A bus service runs multiple times daily toward La Crosse and Viroqua. The population has remained roughly stable in recent years, and no major new housing developments were identified in publicly reported sources. The district’s recent construction expenditures were noted in fiscal records, but no specific referendum or lasting parent-relevant changes were confirmed from the available information.
Enrollment at Coon Valley Elementary is modest for its grade span, serving students whose families reflect a largely homogeneous demographic profile. The student body is overwhelmingly white. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education placement and English learner status were not available in the source material.
State testing results come from the Wisconsin Forward Exam, taken by students in third and fourth grade, and participation was complete. In English language arts, third graders posted a strong proficiency rate, and fourth graders also cleared a majority threshold. In mathematics, third graders reached a similar majority level, but fourth graders showed a notably lower proficiency rate, landing below half. Fourth graders also took science and social studies assessments; the social studies proficiency rate was strong, while the science rate was below half. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint relative to other districts in Vernon County. A parent may want to investigate the drop in math proficiency between the third and fourth grade cohorts, as the data represent a single snapshot and could reflect cohort-to-cohort variation rather than a programmatic issue.
Because Coon Valley Elementary only goes through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate and no data on chronic absenteeism to report. These gaps are a function of the school’s grade band, not a missing source. Students who continue past fourth grade move on to other schools within the Westby Area district for upper elementary and secondary grades.
No information on course access, discipline, or staffing was available. No program offerings such as gifted or specials were included in the data. The school is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status, and no Title I designation was reported.
For families considering this school, the setting is a tight-knit, rural-village environment where the school is woven into the fabric of downtown. The available testing data shows a mixed picture: English language arts performance is a clear strength across the two tested grades, and social studies results are solid, while math for fourth graders and fourth-grade science represent soft spots worth understanding better. The small enrollment means that a single cohort’s performance can swing the numbers significantly from year to year, so a family may want to ask the school about trends and any supports in place for math and science instruction.
See more original research from School Decision →