Wisconsin Continues to See Wide Disparity in Math and Reading Scores Between Black and White Students

Thursday, January 30th, 2025 -- 10:00 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin continues to see the nation’s widest disparity in math and reading scores between Black and white students, according to data released this week, according to Corrinne Hess with the Wisconsin Public Radio. 

Still, Wisconsin’s fourth and eighth grade students are performing better than most states in both subjects, with test scores remaining mostly unchanged from 2022.

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education, said disparities in student performance in Wisconsin make it impossible to get a clear picture of how children are doing simply by looking at the state’s average scores.

“When you look at the average scores it can mask what is going on with the sufferers,” Carr said during a media call Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is known as the “Nation’s Report Card.”

NAEP measures academic performance across the United States and provides a snapshot of student achievement in mathematics and reading across fourth and eighth grade.

NAEP is separate from Wisconsin’s statewide standardized assessment, the Forward Exam. State Superintendent Jill Underly said Wisconsin’s NAEP results serve as an “urgent wake-up call” for the state.

“Just imagine what could be possible if we could adjust the Black/white achievement gap, if we could really invest where it is needed most,” Underly said.

“There is an undeniable link between poverty and academic achievement, and these NAEP results show that once again.” In 2024, fourth and eighth grade students in Wisconsin tested about the same as they did in 2022 for reading proficiency. 

Thirty-one percent of fourth graders performed at or above the NAEP proficient levels, down from 33 percent in 2022, while 31 percent of eighth graders were at or above proficient levels compared to 32 percent in 2022.

At the same time, Black fourth grade students in Wisconsin scored 45 points lower while Black eighth graders scored 39 points lower. Milwaukee Public Schools, where about 50 percent of students are Black, is one of the reasons for the racial discrepancy.

Only nine percent of fourth graders in MPS performed at or above NAEP’s proficient level, down from 12 percent in 2022. Fifteen percent of eighth graders in MPS were proficient.

Statewide, Hispanic fourth graders had an average score that was 25 points below their white counterparts and fourth grade students who identified as economically disadvantaged had an average score that was 30 points lower.

The same was true for eighth graders. Hispanic eighth graders scored 20 points lower than their white counterparts and students who identified as economically disadvantaged scored 25 points lower.

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