The Real State of Education
More taxpayer-supported spending on education doesn’t equal better academic results. That’s the central finding of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty’s September 2026 report, The Wisconsin Education Comeback: A Roadmap for Student Success, released the day before State Superintendent Jill Underly’s State of Education address. WILL documents and lays out what the real state of K12 education in Wisconsin – near-record per-pupil spending, slow pandemic recovery, declining NAEP scores on the Nation’s report card from pre-pandemic highs, and a weak link between extra dollars and better student outcomes. Wisconsin once ranked among the nation’s strongest academic performers, but progress slowed after the reforms of the 2010s. NAEP scores have declined from pre-pandemic levels despite record levels of funding.
Wisconsin remains above average in eighth-grade performance but has slipped in some earlier grades and subjects, and its standing looks worse after demographic adjustment. Wisconsin still has the largest black-white achievement gap in the country among states. Recovery from pandemic learning loss has been slower than in many states, and WILL notes that Wisconsin’s decision to close public schools during COVID was devastating. Among states with available data, Wisconsin ranks 33rd of 38 in math recovery and 30th of 35 in reading recovery since 2022. Students remain roughly one-third of a grade level behind their 2019 peers in math and more than half a grade level behind in reading.
What’s more, DPI has made those trends harder to track. Wisconsin once aligned Forward Exam proficiency with NAEP benchmarks. In 2023-24 the department changed that approach. The new categories are not comparable with prior years, so parents and policymakers cannot easily measure long-term progress.
The money is already substantial. Average revenue per student stands at $18,746, placing Wisconsin in the middle of the pack nationally. Enrollment has fallen 5.8 percent since 2013-14 and is projected to drop another 11 to 16 percent over the next decade. The number of non-charter public schools fell only about 2 percent. Staffing rose 13.5 percent. Districts have gone to referendum at record rates while avoiding meaningful consolidation. At the same time, Mississippi moved from 49th to 9th in fourth-grade reading between 2013 and 2024 while spending well below the national average. Utah spends less per pupil than almost every state yet ranks among the top performers. Both examples, and a large body of research, show that how dollars are used matters more than how much is spent.
Wisconsin already offers private choice, charters, and open enrollment. Research finds positive academic outcomes for choice participants at lower public cost, about $5,980 less per K-8 student and $3,486 less per high-school student. However, nearly 70 percent of families remain ineligible for the statewide parental choice program because of income caps. Entry-point rules also block many students who attended private school the prior year. Other states have moved to universal eligibility. WILL also warns of renewed efforts to roll back choice and Act 10.
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Notes and links on the taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI and Jill Underly.
“Did you know my school was bad like this when you decided to put me here?” she asked.
Madison’s district, despite an elite university pipeline, hypereducated leadership, and a shiny, new strategic plan, suffers the same frailties as Milwaukee’s: basement performance, backbreaking spending. But while Milwaukee is pulling out of its tailspin due to courageouschoices from the top, Madison is ponderously ambling to nowhere. Just ask the locals. “You need the marketing, and you need the product,” as a parent told a reporter. “I’m missing the product.”
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?
China’s PhD Glut Drives Top Graduates to High School Teaching Jobs
