Public Schooling in Southeastern Wisconsin 2008-2009

For the 23rd consecutive year, the Public Policy Forum has compiled and analyzed data from Southeastern Wisconsin’s school districts in order to better inform policymakers and the public about progress—or lack thereof—on commonly utilized measures of academic achievement.

This year’s analysis of the 2008-09 academic year indicates cause for encouragement in some areas, but also cause for significant concern. While this report describes several gaps and trends in significant detail, a few deserve to be emphasized at the outset. First, 2008-09 data indicate that Southeastern Wisconsin continued to close its academic achievement gap with the rest of the state. In fact, annual standardized test scores in certain subject areas indicate that continued academic improvement among the region’s students could soon bring the region into parity with the rest of the state. Second, the region continued to perform well on ACT and AP exams. While not every student takes these tests, those who did continued to improve the regional average. Third, for two measures of participation—truancy, and dropout rates—the region continued to move toward the more favorable rates exhibited by the rest of the state. Taken together, these trends appear to indicate academic progress in a region defined by 50 extremely diverse districts.

Some persistent and increasing gaps continue to emphasize the need for improvement, however. For example, the academic and student participation gaps between the region’s urban school districts and their suburban counterparts remained prominent. Milwaukee Public Schools, in particular, continued to lag suburban districts on test score performance and college preparation measures while maintaining much higher truancy and dropout rates. Also, when compared to the rest of the state, the region’s districts continued to account for nearly 75% of the state’s schools identified for improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, the gap between the region and the rest of the state on standardized tests for individual grades remained from past years. The persistence of these gaps indicates that continued progress is needed.

Finally, and of particular concern, the academic achievement gap between African American and white students was found to be large across all grades, all subject areas, and in nearly all districts. In addition, while the gap between the races in the region’s districts was substantial, the statewide racial gap was not significantly better. In fact, because the region enrolls most of the state’s minority students, the large regional gaps are likely causing the large statewide gap. Both the regional and statewide gaps have persisted for many years and are indicated by both the state standardized exam (WKCE) and the national assessment (NAEP). Recent research on NAEP scores reveals Wisconsin to have a higher-than-average racial achievement gap every year since 1990. The pervasive nature of this gap and its impact on students across the state suggests a need for concerted action by both state and local policymakers.

The purpose of this report is to highlight the gaps and trends that reflect the region’s educational progress and achievements as well as areas that require renewed emphasis and improvement. The following sections will examine several data sets that provide insight into the characteristics and achievement of school districts throughout the Southeastern Wisconsin region, providing corresponding tables and charts for comparison and tracking. We hope this information is widely utilized by school administrators and policymakers in the new academic year.

--From the introduction