Best Public Schools in Zip Code 53213

ZIP code 53213 is home to 10 schools serving about 4,531 students, including seven elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one alternative K3–12 school. Eight of these schools belong to the Wauwatosa School District, which ranks 142 of 432 districts in Wisconsin (67th percentile), while two belong to the Milwaukee School District, which ranks 418 of 432 (3rd percentile). That district split explains most of the variation parents will see in this area.

The top performers cluster in Wauwatosa. Wauwatosa STEM has the highest test proficiency average in the ZIP at about 80.1%, the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (3.15%), and low chronic absenteeism (3.8%), though its 31.7 student-teacher ratio is far above every other school. Lincoln Elementary is close behind with the lowest chronic absenteeism in the area (3.0%) and strong scores in 3rd grade Math (89.36%) and 5th grade ELA (81.4%). Longfellow Middle posts strong middle-school results despite the lowest per-student spending at $12,600, and East High leads the high school group with a 95.8% graduation rate and 0.1% dropout rate, though its chronic absenteeism of 18.7% is higher than the district and state.

At the other end, Hawley Environmental School faces the biggest challenges: 84.62% free/reduced lunch, 36.3% chronic absenteeism, and proficiency averages around 15%. MacDowell Montessori School K3-12 beats Milwaukee district averages on graduation, dropout, and absenteeism but scores well below state levels, especially on ACT. Notably, the highest-spending schools are not the highest-performing, and strong schools like Roosevelt, Washington, Wilson, and Jefferson round out the middle of the ZIP.