Wausau students' standardized test scores bounced back last year. Here's a breakdown of the data
WAUSAU – Students in the Wausau School District scored nearly as high on standardized tests last school year as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction this month.
The test results from the 2022-23 school year show a pattern of improvement in the three years since 2020, when the tests were not conducted due to communicable disease prevention measures taken by the state. The next year the tests were administered, the 2020-21 school year, Wausau students saw a greater than 10% reduction in proficiency in both English language arts and mathematics, though the Department of Instructions cautions analysis of these results due to a significant number of nonparticipants.
The Forward Exams are part of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System, which is a series of standardized tests designed to meet requirements put in place by the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act. The federal law works toward providing “equal opportunity for all students,” according to the Department of Education website, and it replaced the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act.
Students in Wisconsin are tested on mathematics and English language arts (which includes reading, writing and listening) each year from grades three to eight, social studies in grades four, eight, and 10, and science in grades four and eight.
Here's a breakdown of how Wausau students performed on the ELA and math Forward Exams, as well as the ACT.
Wausau results return to normal range but do not exceed prior results
The 2018-19 school year was the last year the tests were administered prior to measures taken to reduce the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In that year, of Wausau students in grades 3 to 8, 44.8% scored proficient or better in math and 44.3% in ELA. Last year, the students in grades 3 to 8 scored 44.6% proficient or better in math and 41.2% in ELA.
Those numbers have improved since the 2020-21 year, when the results were 31.5% and 34.1%, respectively, although almost 8% fewer than expected students took the exam that year, skewing the results.
Breaking the data down between elementary and middle schools reveals a more detailed story. Last year’s middle school students have not returned to the proficiency levels of their peers of 4 years earlier, with 40.8% scoring proficient or higher in ELA compared to 49.1% in 2018-19. Similar differences appear in the math scores with 40.7% scoring proficient or higher last year compared to 47.1% in 2018-19.
In contrast, Wausau’s elementary students have seen improvements in proficiency over their pre-pandemic peers. In 2022-23, 42.6% students scored proficient or higher in ELA compared to 2018-19 classes, who scored 40.0% in the same categories. A similar result also appeared in the math section, with 50.8% scoring proficient or higher compared to 43.4% in the year before the pandemic.
How does Wausau School District compare to nearby districts, the rest of the state?
Statewide results in the Forward exams show about 39% of students being proficient or better in reading and 41% proficient or better in math.
Wausau’s neighbors include D.C. Everest, Merrill, Mosinee, Marathon City, Edgar and Athens school districts.
Here are last year’s percentages of students scoring proficient or better on the Forward Exams:
D.C. Everest: 43% in ELA (increase of 0.2% since ’18-19), 51.9% in math (increase of 8% since ’18-19)
Merrill: 37.9% in ELA (increase of 5.8%), 35.3% in math (decrease of 0.6%)
Mosinee: 37.1% in ELA (decrease of 5.5%), 51% in math (increase of 2.2%)
Marathon City: 43.8% in ELA (decrease of 6.9%), 44.8% in math (increase of 2.2%)
Edgar: 50.2% in ELA (increase of 3.8%), 52.4% in math (increase of 2.6%)
Athens: 38.5% in ELA (increase of 1.3%, 45.4% in math (increase of 5.3%)
Wausau Schools see slight improvements in ACT results since pandemic
The Department of Public Instruction also released ACT scores for the 2022-23 school year. Of the state’s entire student population, 37.7% scored proficient or better in ELA and 26.9% scored proficient or better in math. Wausau School District students performed better than their pre-pandemic peers.
The ACT is a nationwide college entrance exam that is required for Wisconsin students to take in 11th grade.
Roughly 34% of Wausau juniors tested proficient or better on the math portion of the ACT, up from 25.7% in the 2018-19 school year. And 44.4% of the same population scored proficient or better on the ELA portion of the exam compared to 39.9% of the 2018-19 group.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Wausau School District students' standardized test scores bounce back
