Fewer than half of Wisconsin students were proficient in math, language, according to 2022 standardized tests

Wisconsin state test scores released Thursday confirmed significant academic declines and persisting gaps during the pandemic, with some glimmers of progress in the last school year.

On math and language arts tests for grades three through eight, fewer than half of Wisconsin students were deemed proficient in 2022, a drop of about 10% of students deemed proficient in 2019.

The tests were canceled in 2020 and had low participation in 2021. 

State education officials said the numbers showed "strong signs of recovery and progress" compared to the 2021 results, but were still below pre-pandemic standards. 

"Recovery from something is a journey, and we have not yet reached a destination we are satisfied with," said Abigail Swetz, communications director for the state Department of Public Instruction. 

About 39% of Wisconsin students scored as proficient or higher in math on the spring 2022 Forward exams, compared to about 43% in 2019. And about 37% were proficient or better in language arts, down from 41%. 

The numbers also show continued disparities by race, income and other factors. Swetz said they point to areas that need more support from state programs, including proposals for universal free meals, more mental health support, and more funding for special education and general aid. 

DPI Superintendent Jill Underly recently joined Gov. Tony Evers in sharing a $2 billion plan to boost education funding in the 2023-25 budget, with a focus on literacy, mental health and staff shortages in K-12 schools. That plan hinges on the outcome of the November election. 

Tim Michels, challenging Evers for the governor seat, took a different stance Thursday in a news release, saying Evers had "driven Wisconsin schools into a ditch."

Michels has suggested he would not provide public schools with any new funding and would consider plans that could lower the amount some public schools get, while increasing funding for vouchers for private schools. 

Wisconsin test scores show some progress made since 2021

DPI leaders said they saw signs of improvement between 2021 and 2022 but also cautioned against comparisons between those years. 

That's because in 2021, participation was much lower in some districts where many students were still in virtual learning. There wasn't a virtual option for the test. 

When state officials calculate proficiency rates, students who don't take the test are essentially counted as not proficient, dragging down the rate. Using that calculation method, proficiency rates rose significantly statewide between 2021, with low participation, and 2022, with near-total participation. 

But when looking at proficiency rates solely among students who took the tests, the picture is a little different. Rates rose slightly in math from 2021, but fell in language arts. 

Milwaukee Public Schools' scores fall further

Where the statewide proficiency rates dropped by 10% of the 2019 rates in math and language arts, Milwaukee's dropped by 38% in math and 24% in language arts. 

In total, about 10% of Milwaukee students scored as proficient or higher in math, and about 14% in language arts. 

If you consider that about 6% of Milwaukee students didn't take the 2022 test, the proficiency rates for just those students who took the test are slightly higher: about 11% in math and 15% in language arts. 

Like the rest of the state, those rates for test-takers are a little better than the 2021 rates in math, and worse in language arts. Fewer than half of MPS students took the test in 2021. 

If you count untested students in the total, the rates for 2021 look lower, and the rates for 2022 are higher in comparison for both math and language arts, as well as other subjects tested on the Forward exams for other grades. 

Milwaukee Public Schools leaders said in a statement that they saw proficiency increases "on every test, in every subject area compared to spring 2021, although we know we still have work to do." 

District leaders said they were dedicated to increasing school attendance and "assuring that teachers have strategies to increase student engagement, provide explicit instruction at grade level, and monitor progress with formative practices."

They emphasized some schools that did better than others, including Bay View Montessori, where students scored better in 2022 than they did in 2019. The school has a smaller population of students considered economically disadvantaged. 

In Milwaukee, just 7% of students considered economically disadvantaged tested as proficient in math and 10% in language arts on the Forward exams, compared to 24% of their peers in math and 33% in language arts.

ACT scores also down from pre-pandemic

Statewide, ACT scores in 2022 improved from 2021 but were lower than previous years. Unlike the Forward exams, students were able to take ACT tests in spring 2020 before schools closed in the pandemic.

On the 2022 ACT exams, about 35% of students were proficient or higher in language arts, 27% in math and 28% in science — down from 2020 rates of 37%, 33% and 32%, respectively. 

Similar trends were seen on the ACT Aspire, an exam meant to help students prepare for the ACT. Students were not able to take the Aspire in 2020, so numbers are compared to 2019. 

On the 2022 Aspire exams, about 36% were proficient or higher in language arts, 33% in math and 29% in science — down from 2019 rates of 40%, 40% and 35%, respectively.

Schools nationwide see pandemic drops

Students have shown unprecedented declines in test scores across the country during the pandemic. 

Some of the strongest data come from a federal test administered to 9-year-olds in a representative sampling of U.S. schools. The National Center for Education Statistics has been running the test, which is separate from state tests, since the early '70s. 

That assessment in 2022 marked the first ever drop in math scores, and first drop in reading scores since 1990. They dropped by 3% and 2%, respectively, from 2020. 

Further, those tests showed that falls were larger for students of color, students from lower-income families and students who had fewer resources for navigating virtual learning. 

On survey questions, students who scored higher reported more access to computers or tablets, high-speed internet, a quiet place to work and someone to help them with schoolwork. 

Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @RoryLinnane.