Appleton Area School District

The Appleton Area School District in Wisconsin serves over 16,000 students across 36 schools, including 20 elementary, 5 middle, 9 high, and 2 alternative schools. The district's performance is mixed, with some standout charter and magnet schools outperforming the traditional public schools on key metrics like test scores, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism.

The top-performing schools in the district are the public charter Classical School and Fox River Academy, which both earn 4-5 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger and have exceptional academic outcomes. Other high-achieving charter and magnet schools include Odyssey-Magellan, Renaissance School, and Wisconsin Connections Academy, a virtual school with a 90.2% graduation rate.

However, the district as a whole is ranked 240 out of 428 districts in Wisconsin and has a 2 out of 5 star rating. There is a significant achievement gap, with graduation rates ranging from 75-100% and chronic absenteeism rates from 0-33.5% across the different schools. The data suggests that school choice and alternative educational models may be beneficial for students in the Appleton area, but the district still has work to do in providing equitable opportunities for all students.