“Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has taken steps to make that downward trajectory harder for the public to see”
Will Flanders and Kyle Koenen:
- Wisconsin’s student performance has declined, and it has the largest Black-White achievement gap in the nation.
- The state superintendent’s address attributed challenges to funding, while critics argue spending is high but not effective.
- Proposed reforms include realigning state tests with national standards and adopting A-F grades for schools.
- Other suggestions involve a “Teacher Bill of Rights” to address classroom discipline and expanding school choice options.
- Wisconsin’s student performance has declined, and it has the largest Black-White achievement gap in the nation.
- The state superintendent’s address attributed challenges to funding, while critics argue spending is high but not effective.
- Proposed reforms include realigning state tests with national standards and adopting A-F grades for schools.
- Other suggestions involve a “Teacher Bill of Rights” to address classroom discipline and expanding school choice options.
Wisconsin schools sit at a crossroads. After a decade of significant education reforms, Wisconsin has lost ground on key measures of student performance. Wisconsin is now one of the worst states in post-pandemic academic recovery and continues to have the largest Black-White achievement gap of any state.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has taken steps to make that downward trajectory harder for the public to see, including lowering Forward Exam cut scores, producing an overnight jump in “proficiency” that no longer aligns with national NAEP benchmarks. Despite near-record spending of $18,746 per student on average, Forward Exam scores released last week remain largely stagnant.
State Superintendent Jill Underly’s annual State of Education address ignored much of this reality. Underly framed Wisconsin’s education challenges as simply a result of inadequate funding, rather than examining whether schools are effectively using the substantial resources they already receive. She offered little in terms of concrete reforms to improve academic achievement, classroom discipline, or school effectiveness, instead falling back on platitudes about the importance of public education.
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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
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