“The school has a poverty rate of 48 percent and a reading proficiency of 80 percent”
The school also has two reading intervention teachers and every student gets a half hour every day to read at their own level.
“We don’t care where you start but we promise you will grow a year’s worth in a year’s time,” Platt said.
Platt says while she appreciates the “bright spot” recognition, she is also uncomfortable with it.
She said that while her school district has a reasonable amount of poverty and all of the associated problems that come with it, her district does not have the same issues as larger urban school districts.
“You can’t compare our successes with places like Milwaukee,” Platt said. “I feel like public schools in Milwaukee get such a bad rap, but the row they have to hoe is so much harder than ours.”
Rib Lake Elementary in Taylor County; Horicon Elementary School and Washington Elementary School in Dodge County; and Hayward Intermediate in Sawyer County also made The 74 list.
Mark DiStefano is the superintendent of the Beaver Dam Unified School District, which includes Washington Elementary School.
The school has a poverty rate of 48 percent and a reading proficiency of 80 percent.
Like Platt, DiStefano says every student is expected to move ahead at least one grade level of reading, no matter what their socioeconomic situation is.
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Beaver Dam’s 2024-2025 early literacy 4k to 3rd grade screener rate (32.3% below the 25th percentile) is better than the Wisconsin average of 37% and Madison’s 43.7%
2025-2026 Madison 4k-3rd grade Early Literacy Screener report: The bar moves faster than the kids.
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!)
2024-2025 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?
