Eighty-First Street Elementary

Eighty-First Street Elementary is a PK–5 school serving 357 students on Milwaukee’s northwest side, in the Milwaukee School District. Its ranking history is remarkably consistent: 0 stars and single-digit percentiles in each of the last ten years of data, including 3rd percentile in 2025–26, within a district that ranks 418th of 432 statewide.

For parents, the most striking context is geographic. Within about a mile, Roosevelt Elementary (0.71 mi) ranks at the 87th percentile, McKinley Elementary (0.89 mi) at the 86th, and Milwaukee German Immersion (0.89 mi) at the 85th; Lincoln Elementary is 1.37 miles away at the 95th. In contrast, Ninety-Fifth Street Elementary 1.18 miles away ranks at the 11th percentile but still outperforms this school on comparable 2025–26 ELA measures while spending $3,849 less per student and running a larger class (20.5 vs. 18.3). Attendance is the strongest trend: chronic absenteeism fell from 67.8% in 2021–22 to 46.6% in 2024–25, now essentially equal to the district’s 46.2%, though achievement has not risen with it.

Academically, 2025–26 proficiency is below the district in all eight subject-grade combinations and roughly one-fifth of the state average. Social studies is the relative bright spot but has slipped, while science has fallen four straight years to 5.41%, and 5th-grade math reached just 2.27%. The school spends $21,727 per student—more than nearby Wauwatosa School District schools—with a student-teacher ratio of 18.3, yet results remain near the floor. About 81.79% of students are economically disadvantaged, and the low-SES subgroup ranks at the 0th percentile of 848 schools. Bottom line: a stable but very low-performing school whose attendance improved, but whose achievement has not followed.