The release of data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” has shed light on a troubling trend in Wisconsin’s schools. Scores are low and the gap between black and white student performance is among the nation’s worst.
“Wisconsin continues to have the largest racial achievement gap in the country among states, second only to DC among NAEP areas,” Dr. Will Flanders, research director at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, posted on the social media platform X.
In 2024, test scores from Wisconsin’s fourth and eighth graders indicated a slight decline in reading proficiency compared to 2022. The data revealed that only 31% of fourth graders and 31% of eighth graders met or exceeded the NAEP proficient levels for reading, down from 33% and 32% respectively two years prior.
“Reading scores in Wisconsin and Milwaukee are the lowest in decades. Instead of solving this literacy crisis, Superintendent Underly has lowered standards for Wisconsin kids and dragged her feet on enacting Act 20,” said CJ Szafir, CEO of the Institute for Reforming Government. “Enough is enough. DPI must return to high standards and retrain teachers by the law’s 2025 deadline, or 2027 will look the same.”
The racial divide in academic achievement is stark. Black fourth graders scored 45 points below their white counterparts, while Black eighth graders were 39 points behind. This gap is particularly pronounced in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), where half of the student population is Black. Here, only 9% of fourth graders and 15% of eighth graders achieved proficiency in reading, a drop from 12% for fourth graders in 2022.
Hispanic students also lag behind, with fourth graders scoring 25 points lower than white students in reading and eighth graders 20 points lower. Economic disadvantage further compounds these issues, with economically disadvantaged students scoring 30 points lower in fourth grade and 25 points lower in eighth grade reading compared to their peers.
“Wisconsin’s performance in fourth grade reading was the lowest since at least 1992,” Flanders posted on X. “This speaks to the desperate need to implement the “Science of Reading,” & shows once again the extremely negative consequences of long-term school closure at the behest of unions during COVID.”
In mathematics, Wisconsin’s overall performance is more commendable, with eighth graders ranking just behind Massachusetts and the Department of Defense schools. However, the racial and economic disparities persist. Black students scored 47 points below white students in fourth-grade math, with Hispanic students 26 points behind. By eighth grade, Black students were 50 points behind, and Hispanic students 33 points.
Gender differences also emerged in the data, with fourth-grade boys outperforming girls by five points in math, while girls surpassed boys by 10 points in reading.
MPS stands out not only for its lower performance but also because its results are reported separately from the state’s average due to its significant size and demographic composition. In math, only 12% of fourth graders and 8% of eighth graders reached proficiency, with MPS outperforming only Detroit among urban districts.
The state’s educational leaders and policymakers face the ongoing task of addressing overall low scores as well as these disparities to ensure all students have access to quality education.
Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly says the poor scores and the racial achievement gap requires more education spending.
“The upcoming biennial budget is a defining moment for our students and their families,” Dr. Underly said in a press statement. “The legislature has let public school funding fall behind – we cannot expect to see meaningful improvement for our kids if we continue to invest too little. It’s time to make the right choices for the future of our state, and that starts with fully funding our public schools and giving every child the opportunity to succeed.”
Brittany Kinser, candidate challenging Underly in the Spring election, also commented.
“The latest Nation’s Report Card, released today, confirms that only 3 out of 10 students are college- or career-ready, and the achievement gap is widening,” Kinser said. “The state exam results for Wisconsin fail to reveal the full extent of the problem. Transparency and urgency are critical to addressing this crisis. That’s why I’m running—to restore high academic standards with a relentless focus on reading, writing, and math.”
FROM NAEP:
Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, has been the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in U.S. public and private schools know and are able to do in various subjects. In 2024, NCES administered the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments to fourth- and eighth-graders in public and private schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity schools, Puerto Rico (mathematics only), and in 26 urban districts. The assessments were administered between January and March of 2024. Approximately 235,000 fourth-graders from approximately 6,100 schools and 230,000 eighth-graders from approximately 5,400 schools participated in the 2024 mathematics and reading assessments. Representative samples of schools and students are drawn from each state, district, Puerto Rico (mathematics only), the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Results for states and districts are for public schools only.
Visit https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ to view the report.
This story was posted at 7:50 am on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 and will be updated with more data and reactions as they become available.
Last Update: 11:00 am
