Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language, Milwaukee WI

Original Research by School Decision on Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language

Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the Milwaukee School District. The school’s defining feature is its language focus, offering a Chinese-language program in a city where few public schools provide that kind of dedicated immersion or world-language pathway. For a family seeking an elementary and middle school where a child can study Chinese as part of the daily academic program, this school presents a clear and deliberate option.

The student body is diverse but with a strong demographic profile. The largest group of students is Black, making up the majority, followed by a substantial share of Asian students, a smaller Hispanic population, and a very small number of White students and students of two or more races. A large majority of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a context of high economic need.

State assessment results show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, science, and social studies are low across the tested grades. In math, proficiency rates in each grade from third through eighth are in the low to very low single-digit range for several grade levels, with a slight uptick in a couple of grades. In English language arts, the pattern is similar; rates remain below a quarter of students meeting the proficiency bar in any grade. Science and social studies results for fourth and eighth grade also show low proficiency. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Milwaukee County. A parent considering this school would want to look into how the school supports academic growth in the core subjects, particularly given that the Chinese-language program may be the primary draw rather than test-score performance.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That data gap is a natural consequence of the grade band. The school also does not provide data on chronic absenteeism, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about attendance patterns and how they affect learning.

Milwaukee Academy of Chinese Language sits within the Milwaukee School District, which is in the midst of significant administrative and financial pressures. The district is facing a projected budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year, tied to declining enrollment and the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds, and is considering cuts to programs and staffing. At the same time, voters approved a substantial referendum to fund accessibility projects in aging school buildings, signaling a long-term investment in physical infrastructure. The district is also working through a Long Range Facilities Plan that could lead to school closures or consolidations, and families may see changes to attendance boundaries in the coming years. These district-level conditions could affect class sizes, program availability, and school assignments for students at the Academy.

Milwaukee itself is a large, dense city on Lake Michigan with a deep industrial and brewing history, a mix of downtown revitalization and persistent racial segregation, and a set of major employers in finance, manufacturing, and healthcare. The city’s population has been declining for decades, and economic disparities are pronounced. The school is located on West Wisconsin Avenue, which places it in a central urban corridor. For a family already living in or considering a move to Milwaukee, the Academy offers a focused language program in a setting that is otherwise shaped by the challenges and resource constraints of a large urban district. Parents who value the Chinese curriculum and are prepared to supplement core academic instruction at home or through outside support may find the school a good fit; those who prioritize high proficiency rates on state tests will likely look elsewhere.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 18%

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

Grade 62%

School 2% · District 18% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 22% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 82%

School 2% · District 19% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 22% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 43%

School 3% · District 22% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 49 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 24% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 28% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 29% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 45%

School 5% · District 20% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 82%

School 2% · District 22% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 49 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 45%

School 5% · District 32% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 36% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 57 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

This schoolMilwaukee School District, 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 7Lower-income20%Higher-income33%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income14%1 pp gap