Milwaukee Academy of Science, Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on Milwaukee Academy of Science

Milwaukee Academy of Science is a public charter school serving students from four-year-old kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Milwaukee. It is part of the Milwaukee Science Education Consortium Inc., a small charter district, and is classified as a regular school rather than an alternative or special-purpose school. The school sits in the heart of Wisconsin’s largest city, a place defined by its legacy as a manufacturing port on Lake Michigan, a mix of industrial and commercial districts, and culturally distinct neighborhoods shaped by waves of immigration and entrenched racial segregation. Families considering this school are choosing an urban charter that spans the full K-12 spectrum within a single building.

The student body is large for a single school, and the demographic picture is distinctive. Nearly all students who attend are Black, with small shares of Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, and white students. A very high share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding neighborhoods. Milwaukee as a whole has seen decades of population decline and persistent poverty alongside a redeveloping downtown and riverfront, and the school’s enrollment reflects those local realities. The peer environment is one where students come from backgrounds of concentrated poverty, and the school’s mission as a charter gives it some autonomy in programming, though the data available does not specify what programmatic focus the name “Academy of Science” entails.

State testing results are available for grades three through eight in math, English language arts, science, and social studies. Across every grade and every subject, the share of students reaching proficiency was low. In math, for example, the proportion meeting the state bar was in the single digits or low teens in most grades. In ELA, the pattern was similar, with only a modest uptick in seventh and eighth grade. Science and social studies results followed the same trend. The school’s overall proficiency index, a composite across tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quarter when compared to districts across Milwaukee County. That is a consistent and sobering signal for any family weighing academic preparation.

Because the school serves high school grades but the payload does not include any state assessment data for those grades, a parent cannot judge academic performance at the high school level from this source. Similarly, there is no reported graduation rate, no information on chronic absenteeism, and no data on discipline, staffing ratios, or course access such as Advanced Placement or dual credit. These gaps are notable for a school that claims to serve students all the way through twelfth grade. A parent would want to ask the school directly about its high school outcomes, graduation rates, college-going rates, and the specific career or college preparatory pathways it offers.

The housing market around the school, as indicated by the zip code covering this part of Milwaukee, shows home values that are well below the state and national medians; rents are also lower than the national benchmark but have been rising. The broader economic context includes a modest national unemployment rate and a 30-year mortgage rate that has fluctuated in the mid-six percent range. For a family looking at this area, the cost of housing is relatively accessible compared to the rest of Wisconsin, but the school’s academic challenges are a major factor in the decision.

Milwaukee Academy of Science offers a full pre-K through twelve continuum in a charter setting within a large, diverse, and economically challenged city. The academic performance in elementary and middle grades is consistently low, and the lack of published high school data makes it difficult to assess the full picture. A family drawn to the idea of a single-school K-12 experience in Milwaukee may want to investigate further what supports are in place for student learning and what outcomes the school’s high school program produces.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 42 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

528 schools plotted. 25 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 48%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 44%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 48 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 52 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolMilwaukee Science Education Consortium Inc, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income33%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income8%Higher-income17%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income0%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income14%Higher-income33%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income9%Higher-income17%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income0%17 pp gap