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Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1009th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,039 Wisconsin Elementary Schools
Better than 3% of Wisconsin elementary schools
Summary

Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary is a PK–8 public school in the Milwaukee School District at 7900 W Acacia St in Milwaukee, serving 384 students from a high-poverty community, with about 92% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school has ranked in the bottom few percent of Wisconsin schools for the entire period shown, from 2015–16 through 2025–26 — placing 1009th of 1039 in 2025–26 — while the district itself ranks 418th of 432.

Attendance is the most striking concern. Chronic absenteeism was 68.0% in 2024–25, higher than every nearby school listed and far above the district (46.2%) and the state (17.3%). Nearby Stuart Elementary and Bruce Elementary, which serve similarly high-poverty populations and spend less per student, had absenteeism around 34%. Test scores are also low, especially in math: in 2025–26 every reported math grade was below 8% proficient, and 5th grade math and ELA were both 0%, as was 7th grade ELA. There are a few brighter spots, including 6th grade ELA at 24.39% and 8th grade ELA at 25.93%.

Subgroup results are bottom-tier statewide, including for special education and low-income students. One relative strength is the dropout rate — 0.9% in 2024–25, below the district's 4.0% and near the state's 1.1%. Spending is $26,248 per student, among the highest in its nearby district group and up about 73% since 2019–20, yet proficiency and attendance remain lower than at several schools that spend less, such as Stuart and Bruce. Enrollment (384 students) and class size (15.9 students per teacher) are similar to comparable schools.

384
Students ?
15.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$26,248
Per pupil spending ?
92.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
62%
Kindergartners meeting all minimum immunization requirements (2025-26)
 7900 W Acacia St
       Milwaukee, WI  53223-5623

(414) 393-3800

District: Milwaukee School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:
81.8%
Asian:
6.0%
Hispanic:
5.7%
more
 See top rated Wisconsin elementary schools

 Compare Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 2nd percentile in 2016 → 3rd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Wisconsin average (9% vs 55% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (68% vs 17% Wisconsin)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school9%
District avg25%
Wisconsin avg55%
Elementary school
1,009th of 1,039
Wisconsin public elementary schools ?
Bottom 3%▲ up 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
603rd of 643
Wisconsin public middle schools ?
Bottom 6%▲ up 6 pts since 2016
From bottom 1% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Wisconsin Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
77th 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
20262.71009 of 10392.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20251.61033 of 10441.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.31035 of 10612.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.01042 of 10672.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.01033 of 10673.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.0984 of 10506.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20191.81023 of 10371.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.0986 of 10253.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20171.61061 of 10710.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20162.71051 of 10752.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20152.61043 of 10763.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20142.11035 of 10612.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20133.61016 of 10533.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20123.21006 of 10453.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20114.21010 of 10463.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201012.4968 of 10457.4%☆☆☆☆☆
200920.0922 of 103010.5%★☆☆☆☆
20086.7966 of 10215.4%☆☆☆☆☆
200726.1570 of 68917.3%★☆☆☆☆
20051.8613 of 6323.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20045.3599 of 6335.4%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202622.0130 of 15013.3%★☆☆☆☆
202514.9139 of 1443.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202425.3114 of 13716.8%★☆☆☆☆
202320.0134 of 1382.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202223.2117 of 13312.0%★☆☆☆☆
202133.1101 of 14128.4%★☆☆☆☆
201920.4146 of 1619.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201829.0120 of 16527.3%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.3958 of 9862.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20251.6997 of 10010.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.6985 of 10112.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.8986 of 10102.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.4976 of 10174.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.1941 of 10046.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.5985 of 10021.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.9962 of 9973.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20232.6871 of 8710.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.0858 of 8590.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.1963 of 9892.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.8976 of 10002.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.3979 of 10123.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.3990 of 10112.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.1997 of 10172.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.4923 of 10038.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20192.3993 of 10020.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.1954 of 9974.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202614.4750 of 7915.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.9780 of 8022.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.9775 of 7901.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.5737 of 7704.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.2709 of 7485.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.4639 of 74614.3%★☆☆☆☆
201915.1712 of 7424.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.1693 of 7213.9%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20263.8603 of 6436.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20255.2585 of 6286.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.6631 of 6411.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.8626 of 6402.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.7588 of 6174.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20214.7587 of 6134.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.0574 of 5943.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.3544 of 5796.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20172.7592 of 6123.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20162.0607 of 6090.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20151.8599 of 6122.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20142.1564 of 5853.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20132.3549 of 5693.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20127.6520 of 5597.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20118.9515 of 5496.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20109.1499 of 5397.4%☆☆☆☆☆
200914.2474 of 5219.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20082.9501 of 5193.5%☆☆☆☆☆
200719.4316 of 36613.7%★☆☆☆☆
200610.3344 of 3829.9%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202619.2108 of 12513.6%★☆☆☆☆
202540.467 of 11742.7%★★☆☆☆
202417.8112 of 1185.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.5124 of 1304.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202223.5109 of 12512.8%★☆☆☆☆
202130.3105 of 13421.6%★☆☆☆☆
201925.5105 of 12717.3%★☆☆☆☆
201833.685 of 12330.9%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20264.4543 of 5725.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.9510 of 57311.0%★☆☆☆☆
20242.7561 of 5803.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.7562 of 5792.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.8554 of 5763.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.7550 of 5744.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.0538 of 5573.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.7516 of 5516.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
201838.4137 of 20432.8%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20242.9515 of 5201.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.7522 of 5250.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.9506 of 5223.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
20264.7541 of 5755.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.4563 of 5772.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20241.5582 of 5850.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.9583 of 5911.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.3538 of 5776.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.6547 of 5724.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20194.2536 of 5573.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.5525 of 5514.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankWisconsin percentileRating
202613.7424 of 4393.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202512.2404 of 4142.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.9413 of 4252.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.6415 of 4395.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.1403 of 4214.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202122.0376 of 43714.0%★☆☆☆☆
201917.0397 of 4144.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.8395 of 4175.3%☆☆☆☆☆
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 (2026)13th percentile+10 vs school
Special Education (2026)5th percentile~ school
Female (2026)3rd percentile~ school
Male (2026)3rd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2023)<1st percentile~ school
Middle school
Hispanic (2018)33rd percentile+27 vs school
African American (2026)14th percentile+7 vs school
Male (2026)6th percentile~ school
Female (2026)5th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)3rd percentile-3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2024)1st percentile~ school
By subject vs Wisconsin (2025-2026) ?
Social Studies16%-49 vs state
English Language Arts12%-42 vs state
Science7%-46 vs state
Mathematics4%-49 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary

Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary ranks in the bottom 2.9% of Wisconsin elementary schools.

Students at Milwaukee Sign Language Elementary are 82% African American, 6% Asian, 6% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% White.

In the 2024-25 school year, 384 students attended Milwaukee Sign Language 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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