Riverwest Elementary

Summary:

Riverwest Elementary is a public elementary school serving grades PK-5 in the high-poverty Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. With consistently low academic performance and high rates of chronic absenteeism, Riverwest Elementary has ranked in the bottom 10% of Wisconsin elementary schools for over a decade.

Riverwest Elementary struggles across key metrics, with extremely high chronic absenteeism rates (40.6% to 78.1%), very low proficiency on state assessments (e.g., only 14.29% of 3rd graders were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 21.43% for the Milwaukee School District and 52.07% for the state), and over 90% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Despite spending significantly more per student ($15,537 in 2020-2021) than the state average, the school has been unable to translate these resources into improved academic outcomes.

Interestingly, nearby schools like Gaenslen Elementary and Fratney Elementary, which also serve high-poverty populations, perform better than Riverwest Elementary across most metrics. Riverwest's performance is particularly low for male students, English Language Learners, and students with special needs, ranking in the bottom 10-15% of Wisconsin schools for these subgroups. Despite the school's persistent underperformance, there has been no significant improvement in its academic outcomes over the past decade.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 2765 N Fratney St
       Milwaukee, WI  53212-2607


(414) 267-4400

District: Milwaukee School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1028th of 1,061 Wisconsin Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $15,537 Help


Students who attend Riverwest Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    King International Baccalaureate Middle
    Lincoln Middle
    Roosevelt Middle
High:    Audubon Technology and Communication High
    Bradley Technology High
    King International
    Milwaukee High School of the Arts
    More...

Student/teacher ratio:  17.7 Help
Number of students:  275

Racial breakdown:

African American:
78.2%
Hispanic:
9.8%
Two or more races:
7.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  96% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Riverwest Elementary ranks worse than 96.9% of elementary schools in Wisconsin. It also ranks 78th among 106 ranked elementary schools in the Milwaukee School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 2.47. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (78.2%), Hispanic (9.8%), two or more races (7.6%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 96% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Riverwest Elementary is 17.7. 63 elementary schools in the Milwaukee School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Riverwest Elementary employs 15.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Riverwest Elementary is $15,537, which is the 53rd highest among 106 elementary schools in the Milwaukee School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Riverwest Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Riverwest Elementary 1028th of 1061 Wisconsin public elementary schools. (See Riverwest Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:


Milwaukee School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Milwaukee School District 417th of 428 Wisconsin school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Riverwest Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 17.48 547th 633 13.6%
2005 9.55 573rd 632 9.3%
2006 24.78 593rd 712 16.7%
2007 34.55 541st 689 21.5%
2008 27.46 867th 1021 15.1%
2009 33.94 821st 1030 20.3%
2010 19.86 927th 1045 11.3%
2011 25.64 905th 1046 13.5%
2012 30.15 878th 1045 16.0%
2013 8.73 981st 1053 6.8%
2014 7.40 988th 1061 6.9%
2015 5.49 1007th 1076 6.4%
2016 2.45 1055th 1075 1.9%
2017 2.16 1048th 1071 2.1%
2018 1.71 1008th 1025 1.7%
2019 3.49 993rd 1037 4.2%
2021 4.91 997th 1050 5.0%
2022 2.84 1038th 1067 2.7%
2023 2.62 1050th 1067 1.6%
2024 2.47 1028th 1061 3.1%
See the entire list of Wisconsin Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 9.70 286th 287 0.3%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.54 623rd 721 13.6%
2019 24.08 608th 742 18.1%
2021 18.96 664th 746 11.0%
2022 22.39 638th 748 14.7%
2023 12.93 753rd 770 2.2%
2024 13.08 750th 790 5.1%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Female students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 3.40 965th 997 3.2%
2019 7.39 933rd 1002 6.9%
2021 8.00 924th 1004 8.0%
2022 4.44 975th 1017 4.1%
2023 3.65 988th 1010 2.2%
2024 4.03 964th 1011 4.6%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 1.88 992nd 997 0.5%
2019 2.60 987th 1002 1.5%
2021 4.77 972nd 1003 3.1%
2022 2.85 1003rd 1017 1.4%
2023 2.96 997th 1011 1.4%
2024 2.14 1001st 1012 1.1%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Riverwest Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 19.72 154th 165 6.7%
2019 29.76 112th 161 30.4%
2021 33.36 96th 141 31.9%
2023 26.36 109th 138 21.0%
2024 31.75 94th 137 31.4%
See the entire list of Best Wisconsin Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Riverwest Elementary Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Riverwest Elementary

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 116 303 1 254 7 n/a n/a 0 681
1989 94 302 11 225 9 n/a n/a 0 641
1990 93 298 17 243 4 n/a n/a 0 655
1991 82 262 12 214 4 n/a n/a 0 574
1992 63 259 10 201 9 n/a n/a 0 542
1993 61 275 3 201 5 n/a n/a 0 545
1994 68 273 3 220 3 n/a n/a 0 567
1995 36 313 2 228 3 n/a n/a 0 582
1996 36 313 2 228 3 n/a n/a 0 582
1997 35 324 1 225 3 n/a n/a 0 588
1998 36 324 1 236 2 n/a n/a 0 599
1999 43 288 2 236 1 n/a n/a 0 570
2000 38 286 0 247 2 n/a n/a 0 573
2001 49 284 0 241 2 n/a n/a 0 576
2002 30 248 0 287 2 n/a n/a 0 567
2003 30 248 0 287 2 n/a n/a 0 567
2004 34 233 0 296 4 n/a n/a 0 567
2005 43 232 3 274 3 n/a n/a 0 555
2006 29 208 2 238 1 n/a n/a 0 478
2007 34 196 2 205 1 n/a n/a 0 438
2008 40 246 2 190 1 n/a n/a 0 479
2009 41 277 3 170 8 n/a n/a 0 499
2010 41 284 5 183 7 n/a n/a 0 520
2011 34 281 0 162 4 0 1 0 482
2012 33 290 3 152 2 0 0 0 480
2013 24 269 3 125 5 0 3 0 429
2014 26 284 1 130 5 0 6 0 452
2015 21 285 2 129 4 1 5 0 447
2016 22 282 1 120 4 1 4 0 434
2017 12 270 0 123 3 0 16 0 424
2018 11 239 0 86 2 0 17 0 355
2019 12 257 1 61 2 0 16 0 349
2020 7 255 0 55 0 0 23 0 340
2021 9 246 0 41 3 0 22 0 321
2022 8 211 0 22 1 0 21 0 263
2023 11 200 0 26 1 0 20 0 258
2024 11 215 0 27 1 0 21 0 275

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Riverwest Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 681 36.0 18.9 54.6
1989 641 33.0 19.4 79.7
1990 655 30.0 21.8 75.6
1991 574 34.0 16.8 46.3
1992 542 36.0 15.0 53
1993 545 35.4 15.4 67.5
1994 567 38.1 14.9 66
1995 582 39.0 14.9 66
1996 582 39.0 14.9 66
1997 588 41.0 14.3 65.6
1998 599 43.0 13.9 64.4
1999 570 41.4 13.8 73.3
2000 573 41.9 13.7 71.2
2001 576 40.4 14.3 68.9
2002 567 37.5 15.1 95.9
2003 567 37.5 15.1 95.9
2004 567 36.0 15.8 98.1
2005 555 37.0 15.0 n/a
2006 478 36.0 13.3 n/a
2007 438 31.0 14.1 93.8
2008 479 29.0 16.5 97.3
2009 499 32.1 15.5 95.8
2010 520 28.0 18.5 94.2
2011 482 30.0 16.0 96.3
2012 480 20.0 24.0 97.7
2013 429 23.0 18.6 97.7
2014 452 26.3 17.1 96
2015 447 n/a n/a 94.9
2016 434 20.0 21.7 85.9
2017 424 25.3 16.7 96
2018 355 15.9 22.3 93.8
2019 349 22.1 15.7 90.5
2020 340 20.0 17.0 95.6
2021 321 20.6 15.5 97.5
2022 263 19.4 13.5 92
2023 258 19.8 13.0 96.1
2024 275 15.4 17.7 96

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Riverwest Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 681 36.0 18.9 54.6
1989 641 33.0 19.4 79.7
1990 655 30.0 21.8 75.6
1991 574 34.0 16.8 46.3
1992 542 36.0 15.0 53
1993 545 35.4 15.4 67.5
1994 567 38.1 14.9 66
1995 582 39.0 14.9 66
1996 582 39.0 14.9 66
1997 588 41.0 14.3 65.6
1998 599 43.0 13.9 64.4
1999 570 41.4 13.8 73.3
2000 573 41.9 13.7 71.2
2001 576 40.4 14.3 68.9
2002 567 37.5 15.1 95.9
2003 567 37.5 15.1 95.9
2004 567 36.0 15.8 98.1
2005 555 37.0 15.0 n/a
2006 478 36.0 13.3 n/a
2007 438 31.0 14.1 93.8
2008 479 29.0 16.5 97.3
2009 499 32.1 15.5 95.8
2010 520 28.0 18.5 94.2
2011 482 30.0 16.0 96.3
2012 480 20.0 24.0 97.7
2013 429 23.0 18.6 97.7
2014 452 26.3 17.1 96
2015 447 n/a n/a 94.9
2016 434 20.0 21.7 85.9
2017 424 25.3 16.7 96
2018 355 15.9 22.3 93.8
2019 349 22.1 15.7 90.5
2020 340 20.0 17.0 95.6
2021 321 20.6 15.5 97.5
2022 263 19.4 13.5 92
2023 258 19.8 13.0 96.1
2024 275 15.4 17.7 96

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Riverwest Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $2,289 (17.4%) $10,878 (82.6%) $13,167
2020 $2,672 (19.3%) $11,158 (80.7%) $13,830
2021 $3,748 (24.1%) $11,789 (75.9%) $15,537

Data source: Wisconsin Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Riverwest Elementary

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 993rd of 1037 Elementary schoolsRanks 1050th of 1067 Elementary schools
 2.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Riverwest Elementary)102.5
 7.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Milwaukee School District)16.413.2
 3.2%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)39.537.9
 1.6%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Riverwest Elementary)152.5
 12.5%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Milwaukee School District)21.216.9
 4.3%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)50.548.8
 1.7%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Riverwest Elementary)12.22.9
 9.3%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Milwaukee School District)18.517.5
 1%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)43.945.8
 1.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Riverwest Elementary)6.15.9
 0.2%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Milwaukee School District)16.412.7
 3.7%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)46.246.5
 0.2%
4th Grade Social Studies (Riverwest Elementary)8.22.9
 5.3%
   4th Grade Social Studies (Milwaukee School District)24.128.3
 4.2%
   4th Grade Social Studies (Wisconsin)53.459.7
 6.4%
4th Grade Science (Riverwest Elementary)10.28.8
 1.4%
   4th Grade Science (Milwaukee School District)21.819.3
 2.5%
   4th Grade Science (Wisconsin)53.952.1
 1.8%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Riverwest Elementary)8.73.6
 5.1%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Milwaukee School District)16.514.1
 2.4%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Wisconsin)40.939.2
 1.7%
5th Grade Mathematics (Riverwest Elementary)6.40
 6.4%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Milwaukee School District)18.214.9
 3.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Wisconsin)47.848.4
 0.5%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students349258
 26.1%
African American257200
 22.2%
American Indian21
 50%
Asian10
 100%
Hispanic6126
 57.4%
Pacific Islander00
White1211
 8.3%
Two or More Races1620
 25%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients90.5%96.1%
 5.6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Riverwest Elementary

Students at Riverwest Elementary are 78% African American, 10% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 4% White.

In the 2023-24 school year, 275 students attended Riverwest Elementary.

Riverwest Elementary ranks in the bottom 3.1% of Wisconsin elementary schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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