WILL:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a nationally representative sample of schools throughout the country that allows for an apples-to-apples comparison of students in each state, and some cities. Early this morning, the 2024 NAEP results were released. Not surprisingly, they paint a dim picture of student performance since the pandemic, both in Wisconsin and across the nation. Here are four main takeaways.  

Dramatic Drops in Student Performance 

Student performance in 4th grade reading in Wisconsin was the lowest that had been recorded since at least 1992.  4th grade math was at it’s lowest level since 2003.  Despite spending more than $18,000 per student, not to mention huge amounts of federal funding entering the system during the COVID-19 pandemic, student outcomes have only gotten worse. This should be a five-alarm fire for the education establishment.  

NAEP Results Clearly Show how DPI has ‘Cooked the Books’ with academic outcomes.  

As we have discussed on several occasions, in 2024 DPI lowered the standards and cut scores for proficiency on the state’s Forward Exam for the most recent academic year.  Proficiency was previously tied to the NAEP in reading and math—meaning that proficiency on the Forward Exam was comparable to NAEP proficiency.  But now, that tie is broken, and Forward Exam proficiency has been dramatically inflated.  The figure below shows the gap when it comes to 4th grade reading.  

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Notes and links on the Wisconsin DPI and its Superintendent, Jill Underly.

Legislation and Reading: The Wisconsin Experience 2004

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Parents overestimate student achievement, underestimate spending

Related: Act 10

Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection?

 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?