Student Achievement in Wisconsin Remains Behind in Math and Reading

Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 -- 9:00 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Average student achievement in Wisconsin remains months behind in math, and a half-grade behind in reading compared to learning levels in 2019, according to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio.

That’s according to the latest Education Recovery Score Card at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. Now in its third year of reporting, the scorecard for Wisconsin shows the state overall ranks 16th in the nation for math recovery and 30th in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024.

In Wisconsin, 83 percent of students are in districts whose average math achievement in 2024 remained below their own 2019 levels, according to the research done at Harvard and Stanford universities.

The average student in some districts, such as West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, remains a full grade level or more below their 2019 mean achievement in math.

Reading remains a concern across Wisconsin, with 94 percent of students in districts with average reading achievement below 2019 levels, according to the scorecard. 

“Unless state and local leaders step up now, the achievement losses will be the longest lasting, and most inequitable, legacy of the pandemic,” Tom Kane, a professor from Harvard University who led the study, said in a statement.

The Wisconsin Legislature passed a bipartisan law last year to change how the state’s youngest students are taught to read. The law, known as Act 20,  moved students to a phonics-based model known as “the science of reading” beginning this school year, but the results have not yet been realized in many districts.

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