Summary
Clarke Street Elementary is a PK–8 school serving 167 students on Milwaukee's north side as part of the Milwaukee School District, which itself ranks 418th of 432 districts statewide and carries 0 stars. Clarke has never earned a star rating in any year on record, and it is the lowest-ranked of the nine nearby schools compared here. Nearly all of its students are economically disadvantaged: 94.6% qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
Achievement is the school's clearest challenge. In 2024-25, Clarke was the last-ranked elementary school in Wisconsin, at 1,044th of 1,044, and across ten reporting years it has never risen above the 5th percentile of state elementary schools. In 2025-26, Forward Exam proficiency was 0% in math for grades 3, 4, 5 and 6, and 0% in English language arts for grades 5, 6 and 7, while the district's own rates were already about half the state average. Grade 8 stands out as a relative strength: 18.18% proficient in math and science, 20% in social studies and 10% in ELA. Chronic absenteeism was 68.1% in 2024-25 — essentially tied for the highest in the neighborhood and about four times the state's 17.3% — though it has improved from 88.7% in 2021-22. The dropout rate, meanwhile, rose to 8.8%, versus 4.0% districtwide and 1.1% statewide, while four nearby schools reported 0.0%.
Clarke's resources look better than its results. It spends $26,381 per student, second-highest among the ten schools compared, and its 11:1 student–teacher ratio is the smallest in that group. Half a mile away, Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36th Street Campus ranks 804th of 1,039 with 1 star, and its chronic absenteeism of 22.2% is roughly a third of Clarke's — despite spending about $6,000 less per pupil and running a 27:1 ratio. Two other encouraging signs: absenteeism has fallen more than 20 points since 2021-22, and in 2023-24 Clarke's special education students ranked 288th of 790 (3 stars), the only three-star subgroup result in its record. Because grade cohorts here are small, single-year swings should be read cautiously.
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