Less than half of Wisconsin’s students in grades three through eight are performing proficient or better in English/language arts, math and science according to test results from the Wisconsin Student Assessment System.
An average of 41.1 percent of students tested proficient in math, 40.6 percent in English/language arts (ELA) and 42.5 percent in science this spring.
The results of the tests come from the Forward Exam. Now in its third year of use, the standardized test is beginning to illustrate trends in the state’s education system.
Math scores are slowly improving with a steady 0.8 point increase from two years ago. The story is not the same with ELA and science results with scores decreasing by 0.9 and 1.4 points, respectively.
The data shows a drop in scores in particular for third grade students of color. Black third grade students dropped from a 15.1 percent proficiency rate in 2015-'16 to 12.7 percent this year. Meanwhile, third grade Hispanic students saw a drop from 26.5 percent to 22.3 percent in the same academic category and time frame.
The data also tracks ACT composite scores for high school students, which illustrates another gap between white students and students of color. Black students averaged five points lower on the ACT than white students.
The Department of Public Instruction noted these results are relatively constant with those of recent years, even showing a small uptick in math performance.
