What made headlines from the announcement by the Department of Public Instruction were scores by younger students on a different test, the Badger Exam.
More than half of Wisconsin’s public school students in grades three through eight — 51.2 percent — were proficient or advanced in English language arts in 2014-’15, and 43.7 percent did as well in math.
Meanwhile, the department’s release of the ACT scores got lesser billing in the news reports.
That release stressed that the 2014-’15 school year marked the first time in Wisconsin that all juniors (11th grade) in public high schools had the opportunity to take the test. That’s because testing fees were paid by the state.