Early childhood is a crucial time for education. It’s when children develop the cognitive and emotional ability to grow into successful adults, and instill foundational skills to keep learning later in life. Schools are supposed to be a place for kids to grow and learn, but in the U.S., they’re quickly becoming an emblem of American children’s declining well-being.
According to a report on childhood well-being published Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, children are recording worsening educational attainment scores across virtually every indicator. The findings suggest the U.S. education system has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on learning models, and represent a warning sign that America’s next generation of leaders may be primed to enter the workforce at a distinct disadvantage compared with their elders.
“Today’s children are tomorrow’s workforce,” Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs at the foundation who oversaw the report, told Fortune. “When we invest in the well-being of kids today, that’s investing in the future of the economy tomorrow.”
The foundation’s report tracked a general decline in childhood well-being in the U.S. between 2019 and 2024, measured across four domains—education, health, family, and community—as well as a decline in children’s economic well-being.
Education was the worst performer of the four. While on-time high school graduation rates have improved, every other indicator pointed negative. The sharpest declines were in foundational skills, with 70% of fourth-graders—at least 2 million kids—unable to read proficiently, up from 66% in 2019, and 73% of eighth-graders failing at math proficiency, compared with 67% in 2019. Attendance is also falling among preschool-age children, with only 46% of kids ages 3 and 4 in school, down from 48% five years prior.
“That’s a critical time for brain development and for learning for children,” Boissiere said. Reading and math ability in particular are “key determinants to whether or not someone is going to graduate on time from high school, and that’s what sets children on the trajectory to do well in school, work, and life.”
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2026-2027 Madison K-12 $pending continues to grow, fueled by a 9.7% (!) property tax increase. Total spending will be at least $706,000,000 for 25,003 students, or $28,236 per student.
May 2026 Madison School District Presentation: 7,095 adults for 25,003 students (3.52 students per adult!)
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.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average k-12 tax & $pending. This despite our long term, disastrous reading results. May, 2026: 7,095 Staff for 25,003 students; $pending > $26k per student!
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
A.B.T.: “Ain’t been taught.”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?