Why shut down schools that put kids more than a year ahead?
A major party’s likely nominee for governor, state Rep. Francesca Hong, says she favors good schools. “Every child deserves a strong and comprehensive education,” her platform says.
So why, as a matter of policy, does she want to close the particular schools providing measurably great education for working-class kids?
She did so again the week before the primary election. When an interviewer noted that 30,000 students in Milwaukee alone rely on school choice, she conceded merely that she’d be “sunsetting” school choice Milwaukee only after the rest of Wisconsin: “So that would be around 2030.”
Why would it be ever? By coincidence, as Hong calmly discussed upending the education of 61,000 modest-income Wisconsin kids, a new study was showing just how strong an education those kids get thanks to school choice.
Find two equally matched kids — same age, same family income, same home language, same part of the state, and, crucially, the same performance on the state’s Forward exam — and watch as one child goes to a district public school and the other to an independent school using a school choice voucher. After four years, compare their learning growth via that Forward exam.
The result: Among most Wisconsin children, using school choice put the typical kid 1.15 grade levels ahead of his public school match. In Milwaukee, using school choice for just two years puts a child 1.35 grades ahead of her peer.
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Joe Gothard, Becky Kundert and Sonia Spencer Remarks on Madison’s K-12 Literacy Crisis.
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.
Map: Foundations of Reading Results: 2015–2024
Where have all the students gone?
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.
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?
