But between the years where scores jumped, the state Department of Public Instruction adjusted testing benchmarks and lowered the threshold to score proficient. The number of students reading and writing proficiently statewide went from 39% to 51%.
The department cautions the public against comparing test scores before and after the change because the results “cannot be directly compared to prior years.”
Critics of the benchmark changes have arguedthe move obscures school performance over time and inflates the number of students meeting grade-level expectations. The Department of Public Instruction, led by state Superintendent Jill Underly, has defended the changes.
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In statements to school staff and supporters, as well as lawmakers, One City often hasn’t cited the change in benchmarks alongside its boost in scores. Asked this week about that omission, Caire said the school doesn’t reference the change because it’s “hard to tell how this impacted schools.”
“Some schools saw no growth from it while others saw some. DPI made those changes. That’s up to them,” Caire wrote in an email to the Cap Times. “States make changes to their assessments all the time.”
Under the new benchmarks, One City’s scores the past two school years show the percentage of Black students who were proficient in reading and writing remained roughly the same.
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Early Literacy Screener Map.
3,887 Madison 4 year old to third grade students scored lower than 75% of the students in the national comparison group.
May, 2026: 7,095 Staff for 25,003 students
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average k-12 tax & $pending. This despite our long term, disastrous reading results. in 2026,
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A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
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“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
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