When it comes to the educational achievement gap between black and white students, Wisconsin is the worst offender in the nation, State Superintendent Tony Evers said.
In his annual State of Education address Thursday, Evers praised Wisconsin as a national leader in graduation rates and standardized test scores, but emphasized that much still needs to be done to ensure success is possible for all students.
“It’s unacceptable that Wisconsin is worst in the nation when it comes to the well-being of African American children,” Evers said in the speech. “It’s unacceptable when Hispanic and American Indian students drop out of school at a rate of one in four, and African American students at a rate of one in three. It’s unacceptable that wide gaps still persist for students with disabilities, English learners and students in poverty.”
In an effort to find solutions to bridge these achievement gaps between white and minority students, Evers formed the Promoting Excellence for All Taskforce this spring, which brought together principals and teachers from public, charter and choice schools and reinforced the importance of family engagement at the classroom, school and district levels.
“Many factors contribute to a child’s well-being and academic achievement, and it’s true that schools can’t solve every problem,” Evers said in the speech. “But education has long been and remains the great equalizer, and we must act with urgency to change what we can.”
Evers also discussed steps currently taking place in the public school system to create more rigorous education standards, better assessments, a new educator evaluation system, new investments in career readiness and improvements in the state’s accountability system.
This November, he will propose Fair Funding for Our Future, a comprehensive school funding reform package which would increase general aid and revenue limits and provide more support for English learners.
