Wisconsin fourth and eighth grade public school students performed at or above the national levels for reading and mathematics, according to a recent education assessment, but the assessment revealed persistent achievement gaps for students of racial minorities.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction released the results of the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading tests in a press release Monday.
The assessment results showed achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities and English language learners, State Superintendent Tony Evers said in the release.
“We must remain focused on our efforts to improve achievement for all students so
they graduate ready for college and careers,” Evers said in the release. “This means continuing to implement our new, more rigorous academic standards and our work in reading instruction.”
State Rep. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said in a press release Friday Wisconsin has the widest achievement gap between black and white students in the nation.
“[T]he root cause of this achievement gap is not a failing educational system—overall, Wisconsin’s fourth and eighth graders perform well nationally,” Johnson said in the release. “The cause is the instability brought on by decades of increasing poverty.”
Rep. Mandela Barnes, D-Milwaukee, said the state’s achievement gap numbers were “awful” in a press release Thursday.
“Wisconsin’s black students deserve better,” Barnes said in the release. “They deserve a government and leaders that provide for a robust educational experience where black students are too seen as an investment in our great state’s future, the economy, and workforce.”
