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What's something Bethesda Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
401
Elementary
DISTRICT 342 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUKESHA SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 551578002006
Bethesda Elementary
730 S University Dr, Waukesha, WI 53188 · (262) 970-1305 · Waukesha County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL401 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 57% of Wisconsin public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Wisconsin public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 38.0:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
157 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 42%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 45 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 61 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 62 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 54 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 55 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 68 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (61) is 10% smaller than its 5th grade class (68).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 54% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
59.6%
WI avg 53.1% . +5.8pp since 2023
Math
68.4%
WI avg 54.8% . +4.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Wisconsin schools, those numbers are about 53 and 55. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.6% | 68.4% |
| 2023-24 | 53.8% | 63.6% |
% Meeting or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Forward Exam. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
59.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.6%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 54% typical for Wisconsin schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Wisconsin's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bethesda Elementary
Bethesda Elementary's state test result (59.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethesda Elementary this school | 401 | 39.2% | 59.6% |
| Glacier Edge Elementary Verona | 462 | 32.0% | 55.5% |
| Whittier Elementary Pleasant Prairie | 459 | 37.0% | 56.8% |
| Midvale Elementary Madison | 372 | 42.2% | N/A |
| Washington Elementary Whitewater | 312 | 46.5% | 53.8% |
| Bay View Montessori School Milwaukee | 449 | 36.5% | 58.1% |
Matched among Wisconsin elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bethesda Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Waukesha County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.6% | #419 of 982 | #46 of 56 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.4% | #229 of 992 ▲ 130 | #44 of 56 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.6% | #346 of 992 ▲ 163 | #44 of 56 ▲ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 401 | #346 of 1,157 | #36 of 65 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #447 of 901 | #17 of 60 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.3% | #228 of 901 | #8 of 60 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.2% | #589 of 1,064 | #9 of 63 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -22.7% | #171 of 664 | #12 of 27 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
401
-56 (-12%) vs 2020
-39% since 1990-91, when it was 662
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 14.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 401 | 30.4 | 13.2:1 | 39% (157) |
| 2023-24 | 415 | 30.7 | 13.5:1 | 38% (156) |
| 2022-23 | 436 | 30.9 | 14.1:1 | 38% (166) |
| 2020-21 | 457 | 32 | 14.3:1 | 38% (173) |
| 2017-18 | 519 | 34.5 | 15.1:1 | 30% (157) |
| 2015-16 | 448 | 30 | 14.9:1 | 35% (159) |
| 2010-11 | 430 | 21 | 20.5:1 | 17% (75) |
| 2000-01 | 478 | 30 | 15.9:1 | 13% (63) |
| 1990-91 | 662 | 40 | 16.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bethesda Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 23% (519 to 401); teachers down 12% (34.5 to 30.4).
About Bethesda Elementary
Bethesda Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school for students in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Students in pre-K through 5 attend the school, which enrolls 401 students. For comparison, elementary schools in Wisconsin average about 323 students.
Within Waukesha School District, Bethesda Elementary is one of 27 schools. The district enrolls 10,922 students.
At 52%, White students outnumber all other groups at Bethesda Elementary combined. It is also 38% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 4% Black. Waukesha County's residents are about 87% White, 35 points above the school's share. The chance that two students picked at random at Bethesda Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 58%.
Its 30.4 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 13.2:1. That ratio is under the 14.7:1 average for elementary schools in Wisconsin. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 39%. That is higher than the 17% average for public schools in Waukesha County.
The allk12 Grade for Bethesda Elementary is B. Compared with Wisconsin public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 57% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Bethesda Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of Wisconsin schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 59.6% and a predicted 53.6%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Waukesha County show that median household income is about $106,076, 49% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 3% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 113 public schools in Waukesha County, with a combined enrollment of about 60,032.
North High is the public school closest to Bethesda Elementary, about 1.2 miles away. Bethesda Elementary has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Bethesda Elementary at 3rd of 7.
In the federal locale system, Bethesda Elementary is coded City: Small, for schools inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Bethesda Elementary had 457 students in 2020-21 and 401 in 2024-25, a 12% decrease. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.3:1 to 13.2:1 over the same years.
Community posts for Bethesda Elementary can cover sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Waukesha County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
411,762
Census ACS
Median income
$106,076
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
49%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
113
60,032 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waukesha School District
- West HighHigh · 1,167 students
- North HighHigh · 911 students
- South HighHigh · 833 students
- Butler MiddleMiddle · 786 students
- eAchieve Academy - WisconsinHigh · 639 students
- Waukesha STEM AcademyElementary · 580 students
Other schools in Waukesha
- West HighHigh · 1,167 students
- North HighHigh · 911 students
- South HighHigh · 833 students
- Butler MiddleMiddle · 786 students
- eAchieve Academy - WisconsinHigh · 639 students
- Waukesha STEM AcademyElementary · 580 students
Other Bethesda Elementary schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Bethesda Elementary. Bethesda Elementary is the 5th largest of the 5.
- Bethesda Elementary SchoolLawrenceville, GA · 1,083 students
- Bethesda ElementaryBethesda, MD · 645 students
- Bethesda ElementaryThompson Station, TN · 561 students
- Bethesda ElementaryDurham, NC · 442 students
Nearby schools
- North High1.2 mi · 911
- Lowell Elementary1.2 mi · 347
- Summit View Elementary1.6 mi · 449
- Butler Middle1.7 mi · 786
- eAchieve Academy - Wisconsin2.0 mi · 639
- eAchieve Elementary2.0 mi · 111
Frequently asked questions
About Bethesda ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Bethesda Elementary?
Bethesda Elementary enrolls approximately 401 students in grades PK-05.
Is Bethesda Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bethesda Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bethesda Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Bethesda Elementary is approximately 13.2:1 (30 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Bethesda Elementary?
Student demographics at Bethesda Elementary are roughly 52% White, 38% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Bethesda Elementary in?
Bethesda Elementary is part of Waukesha School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.