Summary:
ZIP code 53172 has one public middle school, South Milwaukee Middle, serving grades 6–8 with 610 students in South Milwaukee and belonging to the South Milwaukee School District. Because it is the only middle school in this ZIP, there is no local peer comparison; families can compare it with district and Wisconsin averages. The district ranks 341 of 432 in Wisconsin, in the 21st percentile with 1 star. The school ranks 506 of 643 in 2025–26, also 21st percentile with 1 star, a slight improvement from 20th percentile in 2024–25 and 17th percentile in 2023–24.
Academically, 8th grade Social Studies is the strongest result: 58.93% proficient in 2025–26, only 5.70 percentage points below the state and up 9.18 points from the prior year. English Language Arts is mixed. Grade 6 ELA was 41.07% proficient, grade 7 was 35.64%, and grade 8 was 42.26%, all 12 to 20 points below the state; 7th grade declined by 3.59 points, while 6th and 8th improved. Mathematics is the weakest area: grade 6 was 33.92%, grade 7 was 36.17%, and grade 8 was 32.74%, roughly 19.5 to 20.9 points behind the state, though all grades improved year over year. Eighth grade Science slipped from 39.02% to 35.93%, leaving it 15.93 points behind the state.
Attendance and student context show both positives and challenges. Chronic absenteeism was 24.0%, better than the district’s 27.9% but worse than the state’s 17.3%. The dropout rate was 0.2%, lower than both the district’s 1.7% and the state’s 1.1%. About 53.28% of students qualified for free/reduced lunch, per-student spending was $14,855, and the student-teacher ratio was 12.6:1. Overall, the school’s bright spot is 8th grade Social Studies and its low dropout rate, but math, ELA, and science remain below state averages, and chronic absenteeism is high compared with the state.
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