Milwaukee Public Schools Reaches Highest Graduation Rate In 16 Years
MPS hits 72% on-time graduation as state numbers climb and absenteeism trends downward statewide.
Milwaukee Public Schools Administration Building. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
More Wisconsin students are attending school and graduating, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Public Instruction.
For the 2024-25 school year, 92 percent of Wisconsin high school students graduated on time, marking the highest rate since the four-year adjusted cohort was introduced in 2009-10.
The data also showed continued progress in attendance, although chronic absenteeism is still not back to pre-pandemic levels.
“This progress is a testament to the tireless work of educators and the support of families and communities across the state,” State Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. “Our focus is on continuing this momentum and closing remaining gaps so every student can thrive.”
Each year, all Wisconsin public school districts and independent charter schools collect information about their students, staff and courses based on federal and state reporting requirements.
The data for multiple years and schools can be found on DPI’s WISEDash Public Portal.
Milwaukee Public Schools has the highest graduation rates in 16 years
The graduation rate for Milwaukee Public Schools increased to 72 percent in 2025, the highest it has been since the state began reporting the data for the four-year adjusted cohort 16 years ago.
Data shows long-term growth across all racial-ethnic groups represented in the district: Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, White and multiracial students.
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius there is more work to do but this milestone should be celebrated.
“Every student deserves the opportunity to graduate on time and achieve their dreams,” Cassellius said in a statement.
Cassellius said there have been intentional strategies to drive growth, including a focus on student data monitoring and support, continuous student transcript review, dropout prevention, summer school, college and career readiness work, credit recovery, alternative programs and other strategies.
Chronic absenteeism continues to drop since pandemic
DPI data released Thursday shows chronic absenteeism is also down across the state.
A student is considered chronically absent when they attend fewer than 90 percent of school days.
Across the country, nearly 70 percent of the highest poverty schools experienced widespread, chronic absenteeism in the 2021-22 school year. In Wisconsin, nearly a quarter of students were chronically absent that year.
During the 2024-25 school year, the number dropped to 17.3 percent.
Still, the chronic absentee rate is not back to pre-pandemic numbers. In 2019-2020, 12.9 percent of students were considered chronically absent.
Kromrey Middle School in Middleton has made student attendance a focus for the last decade. The school’s attendance team has seen a nearly 20 percent drop in absenteeism over that time.
New numbers released on Thursday shows Kromey, which has about 1,200 students, has a 94.9 percent attendance rate.
Kromrey Associate Principal Eric Engel said the pandemic worsened mental health issues for students but also made children and parents think it was OK to not go to school.
“We did see a huge uptick in families thinking they could just take their kids out for a two-week vacation because they could just do remote learning,” Engel said. “So we had to not only reteach the kids but also the parents that they need to be in school.”
Social Worker Nichole Carlisle said data has driven the changes at Kromrey. As soon as students start missing school, she reaches out to families.
Staff approach the calls as support for families, not guilt. From there, a plan is made to get students back in school, Carlisle said.
“Sometimes there’s a legitimate reason that a student was not here, such as a health issue or a family situation, but it was never communicated,” said School Resource Officer Cassidy Ruchti. “Sometimes it’s not having an alarm clock or being tired from too much screen time. Attendance isn’t the real problem; it’s figuring out what the underlying problems are.”
Latest data shows more Wisconsin students graduating was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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