Wittenberg Elementary, Wittenberg WI

Original Research by School Decision on Wittenberg Elementary

Wittenberg Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the village of Wittenberg, a small rural community in Shawano County, Wisconsin. The village itself has a compact footprint and a mix of residential and commercial areas, with a diversified industrial base that includes wood and paper products, textiles, food processing, and a notable local employer, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats, along with Ho-Chunk Gaming Wittenberg. The school sits within the village center rather than on a separate campus, and it is part of the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District, which also operates the high school a short distance away.

The school enrolls roughly enough students to fill a handful of grade-level sections, and its student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, American Indian, and multiracial students. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic mix of the community. The district has received voter approval for two recent referendums, one in 2021 and another in 2024, that allow it to exceed state revenue limits for programming, operations, and facility maintenance; these decisions were narrowly passed and directly affect the funding available to Wittenberg Elementary. At the same time, the district’s property tax mill rate has declined in recent years, which may ease the local tax burden.

On state assessments, the school’s overall proficiency rate across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Shawano County. Looking at individual subjects, performance varies noticeably by grade level. In math, for example, the share of students scoring proficient or above in grades three through eight generally hovers around four in ten, but seventh grade shows a stronger result, with about six in ten meeting the bar, while eighth grade dips below three in ten. In English language arts, the pattern is more consistent, with most grades between about four and six in ten proficient; seventh grade again stands higher and third grade lower. Science is tested only in grades four and eight; the fourth-grade proficiency rate is around four in ten, but eighth grade reaches above half. Social studies, tested at the same two grade levels, shows the school’s strongest outcomes, with roughly two-thirds of students proficient in both fourth and eighth grade.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate or high school data to report. Likewise, data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing were not available in the records examined. Programs such as gifted services, special education, or career pathways are not listed in the provided information. Parents considering the school may want to explore those topics directly with the district, as well as ask about the support structures that lead to the observed variation in math performance between seventh and eighth grade. The school’s relatively small size and rural setting mean that families who value a close-knit, village-centered elementary and middle school experience may find it a natural fit, while those seeking a broader array of program offerings or a more urban environment would need to weigh those preferences against what the district currently provides.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 53% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 51% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 41% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 52% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 35% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 54% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 51% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 52% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 54% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 52%

even with state median

Science

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 53% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 56% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 69% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 3 pts above state median

This schoolWittenberg-Birnamwood 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-income39%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income40%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income56%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income52%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income70%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income52%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income31%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income55%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income67%37 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income43%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income78%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income35%17 pp gap