Summary:
ZIP code 53172 in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin is served by a single public high school: South Milwaukee High, which enrolls 920 students in grades 9–12 as part of the South Milwaukee School District. Because it is the only listed high school in the area, families here have one public option at this level, and all district-level test scores and graduation figures mirror this school's results.
South Milwaukee High shows real recent momentum. Its SchoolDigger rank climbed from 411 of 431 schools in 2023–2024 to 401 of 431 in 2024–2025 and then to 371 of 533 in 2025–2026, moving from the 5th percentile to the 30th percentile and from 0 stars to 2 stars. ACT proficiency in 10th grade rose sharply between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026: English Language Arts went from 19.23% to 40.09%, Mathematics from 20.94% to 32.72%, and Science from 27.04% to 35.48%. The average gap to the state narrowed from about 20.4 percentage points to about 10.6 percentage points.
Challenges remain. Every tested subject is still below the state average in 2025–2026: Social Studies 32.29% vs 48.25%, ELA 40.09% vs 48.47%, Mathematics 32.72% vs 42.93%, and Science 35.48% vs 43.20%. Social Studies slipped slightly year over year and has the largest current gap. Chronic absenteeism is the most urgent concern at 39.4%, versus 27.9% in the district and 17.3% statewide — nearly 2 in 5 students. The dropout rate is 2.3% against 1.1% statewide, and the graduation rate is 87.6% against 92.0%. The district itself ranks 341 of 432 with 1 star. Nearly half of students (46.74%) qualify for free/reduced lunch; per-student spending is $16,260 with a 13.6 student-teacher ratio.
Thank you for your feedback!