Student test scores rise in Wisconsin but haven't recovered from pandemic

Wisconsin students tested better this spring than they did last year, but their scores were still below pre-pandemic performance, according to results released Tuesday.

The message from state education officials Tuesday was an echo from last year: “We are moving in the right direction, and at the same time have not yet reached our desired destination," Abigail Swetz, communications director for Department of Public Instruction, said on a media call.

Here's what to know about the scores.

Wisconsin test scores haven't recovered from pandemic, gaps have worsened

On math and language arts Forward tests for grades three through eight, less than 42% of Wisconsin students were deemed proficient in 2023. That's a couple percentage points higher than last year, but still a couple percentage points below 2019 results.

While scores for nearly all demographic groups of students have slipped since the pandemic, the slides have been greater for students of color and students from lower-income families.

It's a trend that's already been clear from other data sources. In the first national assessment of students since the pandemic, Wisconsin posted the widest score gaps between Black and white students of any state in 2022, by even greater margins than before.

Research has shown that Black families were more likely than white families to experience pandemic-related job loss, hunger and financial insecurity. Additionally, lower-income families were more likely to lose income. Those factors affected students, many of whom took on jobs, helped care for siblings, and reported worsening mental health challenges since the start of the pandemic.

There was a brighter spot in the results of another test: the language arts portion of the ACT. About 38% of Wisconsin students were considered proficient, up from 37% in 2019. Math didn't go as well, with about 27% of students scoring as proficient, down from 29% in 2019.

Full results are available at wisedash.dpi.wi.gov.

What about private schools?

Private schools do not have to administer state standardized tests to all students, but they are required to test students who are enrolled in "choice programs," which provide students from lower-income families with tax-funded vouchers to attend private schools.

It's complicated to compare their scores to public schools, as they serve different populations. As choice program advocates will point out, the students in the program are all from lower-income families. As public school advocates will point out, students in the program are less likely to have disabilities, as private schools don't have to provide the same services.

Statewide, scores were lower for choice-program students than public school students. On the Forward exams, about 22% of choice-program students scored as proficient in language arts and 18% in math — about the same as the percentage who were proficient in 2019. That's about half the percentage of proficient students in public schools.

School Choice Wisconsin, which advocates for expansion of choice programs, did a different comparison, measuring choice-program students as compared to public school students who are considered economically disadvantaged, and found that the choice-program students scored higher. However, the income thresholds for choice programs are higher than the income threshold to be considered economically disadvantaged.

School Choice Wisconsin also found the scores for the Milwaukee and Racine choice programs were higher than scores in those public school districts.

On Forward exams, about 20% of Milwaukee students in the choice program were proficient in language arts and 16% in math. In MPS, about 16% of students were proficient in language arts and 12% in math. In Racine, about 26% of students in the choice program were proficient in language arts and 21% in math, while about 18% of public school students were proficient in language arts and 15% in math.

MPS leaders said it's important to consider that about 19% of the district's students have disabilities.

Test results for schools in choice programs are posted separately on the DPI website at dpi.wi.gov/assessment/parental-choice-program/data.

Education leaders say lawmakers should take action

After results came out Tuesday, leaders at the state Department of Public Instruction and Milwaukee Public Schools said there are clear actions that could help more students succeed.

Chris Thiel, legislative policy manager for MPS, pointed to state lawmakers sitting on about $6 billion from a budget surplus and "rainy day fund."

"There are ample resources that could immediately be put into play," Thiel said.

Thiel and Swetz both highlighted a 2011 decision by state lawmakers to raise Wisconsin's proficiency standards, followed by years of funding restrictions that haven't allowed school budgets to keep pace with inflation. The state's standards are among the highest in the nation, Swetz said.

More: Four reasons why 1% of the student population seems to be missing from Wisconsin schools

State budget decisions this year left MPS with an increase of only $12 per student for this school year, district officials said, less than impact of inflation. The MPS budget for the school year avoided cutting school staff positions by banking on hundreds of positions going unfilled.

Thiel said state lawmakers should explore a teacher retention initiative similar to one in Michigan, which recently invested $66 million into its Talent Together program, which allows prospective teachers to get free college courses and get paid during apprenticeships. A Wisconsin Policy Forum report last month found that teacher turnover surged in 2023.

Melanie Stewart, MPS director of research, assessment and data, said she is optimistic about new reading curriculum adopted last year and new math materials being implemented this year.

Additionally, MPS has expanded tutoring options, including volunteers through local organization Common Ground who help students with reading. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Contact Carrie Streiff-Stuessy at carriess@forwardscholars.org.

Statewide participation rates for public school students increased about 1 percentage point from 2021-22 to about 95 percent of eligible students being tested, while PSCP student participation declined 2 percentage points from the previous school year to about 80 percent for 2022-23.

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane. 

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin standardized test scores down from pandemic but up in 2023