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Fifty-Third Street Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1022nd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,039 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 2% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Fifty-Third Street Elementary is a PK–8 school in Milwaukee, WI serving 308 students in the Milwaukee School District. In 2025–2026 it ranked 1022nd of 1039 Wisconsin schools — 2nd percentile, 0 stars — while the district ranked 418th of 432, or 3rd percentile, also with 0 stars. This is not a one-year dip: from 2015–2016 through 2025–2026 the school never rose above the 4th percentile statewide and earned 0 stars every year in its available history. Only about 17 schools in the state ranked below it in 2025–2026.

About 89.29% of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–2025, and chronic absenteeism was 58.1% — above the district's 46.2% and more than three times Wisconsin's 17.3%. Absenteeism has improved from 77.7% in 2021–2022 but remains severe. Achievement is low across subjects: in 2025–2026, English Language Arts proficiency ranged from 5.88% in 3rd grade to 14.29% in 5th and 6th, while math was 0% in both 4th and 5th grade and no grade exceeded 5.88%. Science and social studies proficiency were in the low teens or below. Subgroup results are bottom-tier too: female and male students ranked in the 2nd percentile, and special education students in the 1st.

Nearby comparisons are revealing. Several neighboring MPS schools rank even lower — High-Mount Elementary (3rd percentile), Congress Elementary (2nd), Carson Academy (1st), Townsend Street Elementary (1st), and Sherman Elementary (0th) — and some have higher chronic absenteeism (Townsend 73.0%, Sherman 67.7%). Yet other nearby schools with similar or greater poverty do much better: Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 36th Street Campus ranked in the 23rd percentile and Milwaukee College Preparatory School -- 38th Street in the 12th, despite 87.76% free/reduced lunch, with ELA proficiency up to 51.35% and math up to 36.36%; Milwaukee French Immersion ranked in the 38th percentile. Fifty-Third's $21,014 per-student spending and 16.1 student–teacher ratio are not obviously worse than these schools, and Sherman spent $32,242 yet ranked 0th, so funding and class size alone do not explain the gap.

308
Students ?
16.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,014
Per pupil spending ?
89.3%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
79%
Kindergartners meeting all minimum immunization requirements (2025-26)
 3618 N 53rd St
       Milwaukee, WI  53216-2952

(414) 874-5300

District: Milwaukee School District


Students who attend Fifty-Third Street Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    King International Baccalaureate Middle
    Lincoln Middle
    Morse Mid
    Roosevelt Middle
High:    Audubon Technology and Communication High
    Bradley Technology High
    King International
    Milwaukee High School of the Arts
    More...
Racial breakdown:

African American:
84.7%
Hispanic:
9.1%
Two or more races:
3.9%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Fifty-Third Street Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 3rd percentile in 2016 → 2nd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (8% vs 55% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (58% vs 17% Wisconsin)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school8%
District avg25%
Wisconsin avg55%
Elementary school
1,022nd of 1,039
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Bottom 2%▼ down 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
632nd of 643
Wisconsin public middle schools ?
Bottom 2%▬ steady since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
90th of 105Elementary Schools in the Milwaukee School District
418th of 432Milwaukee School District among Wisconsin districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.11022 of 10391.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.11025 of 10441.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.81044 of 10611.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.01026 of 10673.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.61049 of 10671.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20214.01017 of 10503.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20191.81024 of 10371.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.6994 of 10253.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20172.51042 of 10712.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20163.01043 of 10753.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20152.21052 of 10762.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20141.51049 of 10611.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20131.91037 of 10531.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20122.71009 of 10453.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20113.21016 of 10462.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20104.31011 of 10453.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20094.9990 of 10303.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20080.21019 of 10210.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20071.0683 of 6890.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20063.9679 of 7124.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20053.2606 of 6324.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20045.5597 of 6335.7%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202523.1123 of 14414.6%★☆☆☆☆
202415.2134 of 1372.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.0962 of 9862.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.4987 of 10011.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.81001 of 10111.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.5936 of 10107.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.01006 of 10171.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.8945 of 10045.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.0975 of 10022.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.8951 of 9974.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20193.4872 of 8740.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.9966 of 9892.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20253.1971 of 10002.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.9983 of 10122.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.8983 of 10112.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.7987 of 10172.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.5997 of 10030.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.3994 of 10020.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.7961 of 9973.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202611.1782 of 7911.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.7782 of 8022.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.6781 of 7901.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202313.8744 of 7703.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.3673 of 74810.0%★☆☆☆☆
202116.6710 of 7464.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.6720 of 7423.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.0650 of 7219.8%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20261.9632 of 6431.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20253.0601 of 6284.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.9625 of 6412.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.8625 of 6402.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.2592 of 6174.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.8595 of 6132.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.1588 of 5941.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20181.6574 of 5790.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20173.5579 of 6125.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20162.4596 of 6092.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20151.4604 of 6121.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20143.5554 of 5855.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20132.7542 of 5694.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20122.2538 of 5593.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20111.4538 of 5492.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20102.7523 of 5393.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20091.7510 of 5212.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20082.2504 of 5192.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20072.8351 of 3664.1%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202613.8123 of 1251.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202424.196 of 11818.6%★☆☆☆☆
202121.8127 of 1345.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.2552 of 5723.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20255.4541 of 5735.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.7562 of 5803.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.9551 of 5794.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20226.2544 of 5765.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20214.8555 of 5743.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.1551 of 5571.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.1544 of 5511.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.4512 of 5130.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20239.1508 of 5253.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20262.3564 of 5751.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.2567 of 5771.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.5569 of 5852.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.4590 of 5910.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.9568 of 5771.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.0554 of 5723.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.4543 of 5572.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20182.3544 of 5511.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202616.4406 of 4397.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202512.2406 of 4141.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.1400 of 4255.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202319.1408 of 4397.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202222.7358 of 42115.0%★☆☆☆☆
202119.2426 of 4372.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201921.6362 of 41412.6%★☆☆☆☆
201819.0376 of 4179.8%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
African American (2025)15th percentile+13 vs school
Female (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Male (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)1st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2019)<1st percentile~ school
Middle school
Special Education (2026)8th percentile+6 vs school
Female (2026)3rd percentile~ school
Male (2026)2nd percentile~ school
African American (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?
Social Studies15%-51 vs state
English Language Arts12%-42 vs state
Science6%-47 vs state
Mathematics3%-51 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Fifty-Third Street Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 308 students attended Fifty-Third Street Elementary.

Fifty-Third Street Elementary ranks in the bottom 1.6% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

Students at Fifty-Third Street Elementary are 85% African American, 9% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% White.

Rate Fifty-Third Street Elementary!



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Latest Wisconsin data All new data »
2018–19 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 20, 2026
2016–17 through 2017–18 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026
2025–26 ACT & Forward Exam scoresOct 1, 2026
2021–22 through 2024–25 school spending dataJul 16, 2026


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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