Milwaukee High School of the Arts

Milwaukee · WI · Milwaukee School District · Public


AP rigor: 76th percentile nationally 13 AP courses

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 13 AP courses offered — Elite
  • Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • Gifted & talented program
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: 76th percentile nationally
  • SAT/ACT participation: 80th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 4-yr grad rate: 89% in 2019 (Bottom 44% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Milwaukee High School of the Arts compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • ▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 24% nationally with 13 AP courses.
  • ▸ LocallyWI students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+8 points).
  • ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: South Division High, Bradley Technology High, Central High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

76th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
13
Math ✓
Students taking AP courses
293
≈31 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
29
0 calculus · 29 advanced
Lab science classes
53
26 physics · 27 chemistry
Other rigor signals
Dual-enrollment program
Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

80th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
241
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
25.1
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 44% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
89%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
212
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

‍ Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
22.4%
Typical mix. Watch the trend — high turnover can compound.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
36.4%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Federal Title I context

High-poverty school

Title I Schoolwide eligible

76.2%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Your state's public flagship

University of Wisconsin-Madison

43%
admit rate
$11,603
in-state tuition/yr · $42,103 out-of-state
1360–1510
SAT 25–75 · ACT 28–32

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $17,354/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Wisconsin-Madison profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
33.7%
Well above the national average (~16%). At this level, chronic absence becomes a leading driver of enrollment loss as families rotate to other schools.
Students absent 15+ days
335
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2021 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
320:1
Above the ASCA 250:1 target but below the US median (~430:1). Capacity is workable.
Counselor FTE
3.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
59
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 225 in 2021 to 193 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-14.2%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -1.1%/year, projecting from 2024's 959 students:

2025
949
2027
928
2029
908

≈ 51 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $18,188 per student in district revenue, the 51 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $927,588/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
South Division High
Milwaukee
Public 2.2 923 +9.9%
Bradley Technology High
Milwaukee
Public 2.0 1,048 +1.3%
Central High
West Allis
Public 4.8 961 -9.3%
Obama School of Career and Technical Education
Milwaukee
Public 4.7 942 +18.0%
East High
Wauwatosa
Public 3.3 1,043 -3.3%
Whitefish Bay High
Whitefish Bay
Public 5.0 945 -0.6%
Bay View High
Milwaukee
Public 4.1 1,021 +12.9%
Pulaski High
Milwaukee
Public 3.9 1,041 +12.8%

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Milwaukee High School of the Arts is a public high school in Milwaukee, WI, enrolling 959 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Enrollment is down 14% from 2021 to 2024.

It offers 13 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 76% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

241 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 80% of U.S. high schools.

Its federal four-year graduation rate was about 89% in the latest EDFacts release.

It has about 320 students per school counselor.

34% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

How many AP courses does Milwaukee High School of the Arts offer? Milwaukee High School of the Arts offers 13 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 76% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

What is Milwaukee High School of the Arts's graduation rate? Milwaukee High School of the Arts's federal four-year graduation rate was about 89% in the latest EDFacts release.

How many students attend Milwaukee High School of the Arts? Milwaukee High School of the Arts is a public high school in Milwaukee, WI, enrolling 959 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

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