57 public K-12 schools in Madison from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
57 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Madison's 57 public schools is West High, scoring 36/100, against a city average of 45.1/100. Computed live across every Madison campus reporting to NCES.
How the Madison Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Madison, WI enrolls 25,080 students across 57 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 5 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 12:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 45.1/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Madison on this index is West High, at 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 2,222 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Madison spans 3 districts, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Madison school enrollment varies 17× across entities
Madison school enrollment ranges from 129 students (lowest) to 2,222 students (highest), a spread of 2,093 students. That spread reflects typical urban portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Madison student-teacher ratio is 12.0:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Madison
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
