Marshfield Students’ Scores on State Testing

Tuesday, October 24th, 2023 -- 1:01 PM

(Erik Pfantz, Marshfield News Herald) 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.

According to Erik Pfantz with the Marshfield News Herald, 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 Marshfield students in grades 3 to 8, 50.3% scored proficient or better in math and 52.6% in ELA. Last year, the students in grades 3 to 8 scored 44.9% proficient or better in math and 47.1% in ELA.

Those numbers have regressed since the 2020-21 year where the results were 44.1% and 49.4%, respectively. Only about 3% fewer than expected students took the exam that year, defying a statewide trend of more students not participating in the tests that year.

Breaking the data down between elementary and middle schools reveals a more detailed story. Middle school students continue to show a nearly eight-point deficit in math scores from their pre-pandemic peers while ELA scores have not changed much; 46.0% of 2022-23 students scored proficient or higher in ELA compared to 47.2% in 2018-19.

A deficit is more apparent in the math scores, with 33% scoring proficient or higher last year compared to 41.1% in 2018-19. In contrast, Marshfield elementary students showed reductions in both subjects since 2020.

In 2022-23, students scored 48.8% proficient or higher in ELA compared to 2018-19 classes who scored 55.6% in the same categories. In the math section, 52.2% of students scored proficient or higher compared to 55.2% in the year before the pandemic. Statewide results in the Forward exams show about 39% of students proficient or better in reading and 41% proficient or better in math.

Marshfield’s neighbors include Auburndale, Stratford, Spencer and Pittsville school districts. Here are last year’s percentages of students scoring proficient or better on the Forward Exams:

• Auburndale: 32.4% in ELA (decrease of 17.9% since ’18-19), 47.6% in math (increase of 19% since ’18-19);
• Stratford: 53.6% in ELA (increase of 1.1%), 56.7% in math (decrease of 1.8%);
• Spencer: 37.1% in ELA (decrease of 11.2%), 46.4% in math (decrease of 3.6%);
• Pittsville: 40.9% in ELA (decrease of 5.9%), 43.5% in math (increase of 6.4%).

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.

School District of Marshfield students continued scoring above state average since at least 2018-19. The ACT is a nationwide college entrance exam that is required for Wisconsin students to take in 11th grade.

Roughly 29% of Marshfield juniors tested proficient or better on the math portion of the ACT, less than 38.7% in the 2018-19 school year. And 47.9% of the same population scored proficient or better on the ELA portion of the exam, which is slightly less than the 50.2% of the 2018-19 group.

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