Madison Metropolitan
Madison's Chronic Absenteeism Rate Tripled in a Decade
Madison Metropolitan, Wisconsin's second-largest school district and the seat of state government, had a chronic absenteeism rate of 7.1% in 2011. By 2025, it is 29.6%.
Multiracial Students Tripled in Wisconsin, and They're Still Growing
In 2011, when federal reporting rules first required Wisconsin schools to count students identifying as two or more races, the category barely registered: 13,197 students, 1.5% of enrollment. Fourteen...
Two in Five Wisconsin Districts Hit All-Time Low
Nine of the 10 largest school districts in Wisconsin enrolled fewer students in 2025-26 than in any other year on record. Milwaukee, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Appleton, Waukesha, Eau Claire, Janesvi...
Wisconsin's English Learner Population Grew 43% While Schools Shrank
More than half the students in Abbotsford are classified as English learners. In Arcadia, the figure is 44%. These are not urban school districts absorbing waves of international arrivals. They are sm...
Only 28% of Wisconsin Districts Have Recovered from COVID
Not one of Wisconsin's 10 largest school districts has recovered the students it lost during the pandemic. Not Milwaukee, not Madison, not Kenosha. Zero for 10. Statewide, only 116 of 420 districts, 2...
One in Seven Wisconsin Students Is Now Hispanic
In 2006, roughly one in 15 Wisconsin public school students was Hispanic. By 2025, it was one in seven. That shift, from 58,939 students to 116,817, represents a 98.2% increase over 19 years, and it h...
150,000 Fewer White Students in 19 Years
Wisconsin lost 67,640 public school students between 2006 and 2025. White students alone lost 150,475.