Best High Schools in Zip Code 53227

ZIP code 53227 in West Allis, Wisconsin is home to two public high schools — Nathan Hale High and Central High — both serving grades 9–12 within the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, and together enrolling 2,095 students. Because these two schools share the same district office, the same community, and the same state benchmarks, comparing them side by side is unusually meaningful.

Nathan Hale High is the clear standout. It outperforms Central High in every subject in both years measured, and beats its own district average in all eight subject-year comparisons. Its graduation rate is 89.3% (versus Central's 84.1%), its dropout rate is 2.4% (versus 4.0%), and its chronic absenteeism is 18.8% — less than half Central's 41.3%. Its statewide percentile improved three years running, from the 10th to the 27th to the 35th, and its rating rose to 2 stars. Nathan Hale is also the only school here to reach the state average in any subject.

Central High is the concern. It sits at the 12th percentile with a 1-star rating, falls below its district in every subject, and has chronic absenteeism above 40%, meaning roughly two in five students are regularly absent. Its dropout rate of 4.0% is more than three times the state's. Notably, Central spends about $780 more per student ($15,659 versus $14,879) and has smaller classes (14.5 versus 16.0 students per teacher), yet posts roughly half Nathan Hale's average proficiency across four subjects. Both schools trail the state in math and science.