High School Enrollment Criteria

Five MPS high schools use admission criteria for accepting students. All applicants to these schools will receive a points score combining five criteria (e.g., attendance, on-demand writing activity, report card, standardized test scores for English language arts and math).   ​​ Acceptance to these five schools will be determined by student criteria scores. These schools do not have preset minimum scores; students will be admitted in the order of their scores until a school reaches capacity.

In addition, any school that receives more applicants than available seats will use these admission criteria for accepting students.

On Friday 9/15/2023 parents/guardians of grade 8 students will receive emails with letters attached that contain their child's preliminary scores and last year's cut score ranges for high school admissions. The purpose of this letter is to help parents/guardians work with their child to make an informed decision when selecting their first-choice school. Any families without an email address on file will receive a paper copy of the letter via U.S. mail. Parents/guardians with questions about the scores, scoring process, or criteria should email highschooladmissions@milwaukee.k12.wi.us. Additionally, district staff will be available for questions at the high school enrollment fair on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at North Division between 9:00 am and noon. 

High Schools

**Students applying to Milwaukee High School of the Arts must select an arts major, and will be invited to an audition after they are accepted at the school. The audition results will be used to appropriately program students.

• Music (Band, Orchestra, Vocal, Piano, Jazz Studies, Guitar)
• Dance
• Literary Arts
• Theater & Film
• Visual Art & Design / Pre-Engineering & Design

Criteria for High School Admissions

Students can earn a maximum of 12 points for their application to an MPS high school.

These criteria are used for admission at the five high schools listed above, and at any school that receives more applicants than available seats.

Below are the point values for admissions criteria.

Additional Factors

• Students applying to Milwaukee High School of the Arts must select an arts major, and will be invited to an audition after they are accepted at the school. The audition results will be used to appropriately program students.
  • Music (Band, Orchestra, Vocal, Piano, Jazz Studies, Guitar)
  • Dance
  • Literary Arts
  • Theater & Film
  • Visual Art & Design / Pre-Engineering & Design
• For students placed on a waiting list for admissions, applicants with siblings currently enrolled at the desired school will be given preference on the waiting list during random selection.

Additional Information about the Essay

1. MPS students will complete the written essay through their grade 8 teacher between October 2, 2023 through October 27, 2023.
2. Non-MPS students will complete the written essay on their own prior to October 29, 2023. An applicant will receive directions for completing the written essay within one week of submitting their application.
3. The written essay will consist of a short reading selection along with a question about the selection. Students will need to respond to the question and support their answer by referring to the reading selection.
4. Students will have up to two hours (120 minutes) to complete their response.
5. Students may use paper to make notes or plan their essay.
6. Students will have use of MyEditor for corrections for usage and mechanics (e.g., spelling, capitalization, punctuation).
7. Scores will be immediately available to students upon completion and submission of their essay.
8. There is no opportunity to redo this essay.