Wisconsin school safety

If you look up a Wisconsin school on this page, the odds are good you will find a score. Of the 2,263 schools the state reported to the federal Civil Rights Data Collection for 2021-22, 1,378 have one. The rest do not, and that absence is the method working rather than a hole in it.

We publish a score only for schools whose incident reporting we believe. Wisconsin schools clear that bar often. At the other end, we grade the reporting doubtful at 111 schools — 4.9% of the state. Nationally, that share is 11.3%.

Read that carefully, because it is a statement about paperwork. A doubtful grade means schools of the same size normally report several incidents, or ten or more, and this one reported almost none. Those are records we cannot verify. They are not evidence of violence, and a lower doubtful share does not make Wisconsin children safer than children in other states. Every grade compares a school to roughly 1,500 schools nationwide closest to it in enrollment that teach the same grade levels. That comparison is not adjusted for state. Differences between states here are differences in how schools fill out a federal form.

Why most Wisconsin districts have no rank

The state has 455 school districts. Fifty-eight have enough scoreable schools to rank. A district ranking only means something when several of its schools have records we believe, and many districts here are too small to reach that. Their schools may be perfectly safe. We have no evidence either way, and saying so is more useful than a number we would have to invent.

Among the 58, Manitowoc School District ranks safer than 95% of ranked US districts, then Howard-Suamico at 91%, New London at 81%, Marshfield Unified at 79%, and West Allis-West Milwaukee at 75%. Coverage is partial even at the top: 5 of the 11 schools in Manitowoc's scored set have data complete enough to score, and 10 of the 19 in West Allis-West Milwaukee. A district rank describes the schools we could check.

Use this page to see whether your school's records hold up, and how its reported rate compares to similar schools across the country. A missing score is not a warning. It is us declining to tell you something we do not know.

Safest ranked cities in Wisconsin

Percentile is against all ranked U.S. cities (higher = safer). Only cities with ≥5 trustworthy-data schools are ranked. Home value is Zillow's ZHVI.

Safest ranked districts

Every Wisconsin city with schools

Every Wisconsin school district