The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), in collaboration with the national, nonpartisan education reform organization 50CAN, has released a new survey focused on Wisconsin parents. The survey underscores the significant gap in information available to parents regarding their school systems, particularly concerning the actual per-student expenditure by the state. WILL and 50CAN are advocating for new initiatives aimed at increasing transparency and accountability within the education sector.
“Parents have little knowledge of school budgeting decisions, how much school districts are spending as well as how poorly many students are doing in school. We believe these findings reflect DPI’s continued efforts to curtail accountability,” said WILL Research Director, Dr. Will Flanders, PhD.
The survey was conducted by Edge Research and it surveyed over 20,000 parents and guardians nationwide. The Wisconsin portion of the study surveyed 403 parents and guardians of school-aged children (K-12th grade).
“The takeaway from our survey is simple, parents want more information, but it needs to be relevant and easy to understand,” said Marc Porter Magee, CEO of 50CAN. “Our organization is willing to partner to bring greater transparency to academic achievement. It’s critical that Wisconsin policy makers take a serious look at our finding and work to address the information gap.”
Among the findings:
School satisfaction remains low despite an abundance of choices. While only 44% of parents report being very satisfied with their child’s school, Wisconsin ranks as the 10th best state for parents who feel they have options in selecting their child’s school.
Parents overestimate how well their children are doing in school. 43% of parents say that their child is “above grade level” in math, and 45% say the same in reading. However, according to state testing data, only 8.1% of students were rated as “Advanced” in English/Language Arts on the 2022-23 Forward Exam, and only 9.5% were in math.
Most parents significantly underestimate what we are spending per student. 61% of parents estimate that Wisconsin spends less than $15,000 per student, with 49% believing we spend less than $10,000 per student. In reality, the average district now spends $17,908 between state, local, and federal funds. No district spends less than $12,415.
Confidence in college and career readiness is low, and parents want more. The state lags behind national averages when it comes to parents’ belief in their children’s preparation for both college and a career. Only 30% of parents feel extremely confident that their children are being prepared for the workforce, while only 26% are extremely confident their child will be ready for college. Additionally, over 60% of Wisconsin parents expressed interest in dual enrollment, career and technical training, internship-based courses, and courses that result in industrial certification.
“We are hopeful that this survey will help paint a clear picture of parental perspectives on education, and ultimately provide policymakers with valuable insights into how the state excels and where improvements are needed, especially in relation to our peers,” WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg notes in the introduction to the report.
WILL supports reinstating previous DPI accountability metrics that more accurately measured students’ academic performance. Additionally, WILL supports expanding educational options to ensure every family can access schools that best meet their needs.
Esenberg’s organization was also supportive of 2021 Act 89, which required DPI to institute a financial transparency dashboard for public school districts by the 2023-24 school year. To date, DPI has yet to implement this important tool that would better inform parents about their school’s finances.
A digital copy of this report is available at will-law.org.
Visit 50can.org to view the nationwide report and access the full data set.
