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Alumni: what's one memory from Northwestern Elementary that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
515
Elementary
DISTRICT 305 · STATE 323
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MAPLE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 550864001481
Northwestern Elementary
10465 E US Highway 2, Poplar, WI 54864 · (715) 364-8465 · Douglas County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL515 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 47% 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.
- C+Beats 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
17.1:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 14.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
32%
164 students
DISTRICT 33% · 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 | 65 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 75 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 79 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 14% smaller than its 5th grade class (79).
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 19% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Maple School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Forward Exam 2024-25 . % Meeting or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
62.9%
WI avg 53.1% . +10.9pp since 2023
Math
55.5%
WI avg 54.8% . -1.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the Forward Exam, Wisconsin's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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 11 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
Forward Exam results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.9% | 55.5% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 56.9% |
% 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
59.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.1%
based on WI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% 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 Northwestern Elementary
Northwestern Elementary's state test result (59.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Elementary this school | 515 | 31.8% | 59.7% |
| Bloomer Elementary Bloomer | 521 | 31.1% | 52.0% |
| Minocqua Elementary Minocqua | 506 | 32.4% | 68.0% |
| Crivitz Elementary Crivitz | 470 | 35.5% | 56.0% |
| New Richmond Starr Elementary New Richmond | 555 | 29.7% | 65.1% |
| Schultz Elementary Mishicot | 455 | 27.9% | 53.1% |
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 Northwestern Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Wisconsin | In Douglas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.7% | #417 of 982 | #3 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #484 of 992 ▲ 24 | #2 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.9% | #285 of 992 ▲ 264 | #3 of 7 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 515 | #132 of 1,157 | #1 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.1:1 | #818 of 901 | #6 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 15.7% | #828 of 901 | #6 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 31.8% | #712 of 1,064 | #2 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.8% | #652 of 664 | #6 of 6 |
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
515
+11 (+2%) vs 2020
-3% since 2000-01, when it was 530
Student : Teacher
17.1:1
was 14.4:1
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 | 515 | 30.2 | 17.1:1 | 32% (164) |
| 2023-24 | 502 | 30.4 | 16.5:1 | 38% (190) |
| 2022-23 | 527 | 31 | 17.0:1 | 39% (204) |
| 2020-21 | 504 | 35 | 14.4:1 | 38% (189) |
| 2017-18 | 519 | 31.2 | 16.7:1 | 25% (129) |
| 2015-16 | 536 | 34 | 15.8:1 | 33% (178) |
| 2010-11 | 571 | 34 | 16.8:1 | 38% (215) |
| 2000-01 | 530 | 31 | 17.1:1 | 30% (160) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwestern Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (519 to 515); teachers down 3% (31.2 to 30.2).
About Northwestern Elementary
Northwestern Elementary is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in Poplar, Wisconsin. It reported 515 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. That compares with an average of about 323 students for elementary schools in Wisconsin.
Maple School District has a total of 4 schools and 1,271 students, Northwestern Elementary among them.
A large majority of enrollment at Northwestern Elementary is White, at 92%. After that, the student body is 5% multiracial. Among Douglas County residents, the White share is about 90%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 16%.
Northwestern Elementary lists 30.2 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 17.1 students per teacher. The gap from the 14.7:1 average for elementary schools in Wisconsin is 2.3 students per teacher. About 32% of students at Northwestern Elementary are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Northwestern Elementary holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 47% of Wisconsin public elementary schools.
Northwestern Elementary's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 59.7% is 1.6 points above the 58.1% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
The school is in Douglas County, where median household income comes to about $75,099, roughly 28% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Douglas County counts 17 public schools with about 5,519 students.
About 0.3 miles separate Northwestern Elementary from the closest public school, Northwestern Middle. A five-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools. Northwestern Elementary ranks 3rd of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 59.7% against a local average of 54.2%.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Distant.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (504) to 2024-25 (515). By 2024-25, the school had 17.1 students per teacher, compared with 14.4 in 2020-21.
This page collects posts and questions about Northwestern Elementary, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Douglas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
44,229
Census ACS
Median income
$75,099
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
17
5,519 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Maple School District
- Northwestern HighHigh · 372 students
- Northwestern MiddleMiddle · 289 students
- Iron River ElementaryElementary · 95 students
Other Northwestern Elementary schools
9 other US public schools in 9 states are named Northwestern Elementary. Northwestern Elementary is the 4th largest of the 10.
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolSpringfield, OH · 950 students
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolKokomo, IN · 665 students
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolWest Salem, OH · 632 students
- Northwestern Elementary SchoolAlbion, PA · 350 students
- Northwestern ElementaryMardela Springs, MD · 340 students
Nearby schools
- Northwestern Middle0.3 mi · 289
- Northwestern High1.8 mi · 372
- Lake Superior Elementary12.9 mi · 141
- Four Corners Elementary15.4 mi · 200
- Iron River Elementary16.5 mi · 95
- Solon Springs School16.8 mi · 173
Frequently asked questions
About Northwestern ElementaryHow large is Northwestern Elementary?
Northwestern Elementary enrolls approximately 515 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Northwestern Elementary serve?
Northwestern Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Northwestern Elementary?
Approximately 17.1:1 students per teacher at Northwestern Elementary.
How diverse is Northwestern Elementary?
Northwestern Elementary reports a student body of 92% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Two or more.
What district is Northwestern Elementary in?
Northwestern Elementary is part of Maple School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.