WI Math And Reading Scores Stay Down After Pandemic Slide: Report

WISCONSIN — There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic upended learning for fourth and eighth graders across Wisconsin. Just how much our students were affected, however, varies when looked at through the Nation’s Report Card, an achievement assessment that looked at math and reading test scores and beyond.

Wisconsin's scores in 2022 seemed to be ahead of the pack nationally, but many of those scores still lagged behind what they were in years and decades past. Meanwhile, the state's largest district, Milwaukee Public Schools, lagged behind other districts in big cities. The report card, released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the Education Department’s institute of Education Sciences, looks at the key measurements of math and reading proficiency in 2022 compared with 2019, before the COVID-19 interruptions in learning.

In 2022, scores on the fourth and eighth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress math tests were the lowest since the initial assessments in 1990. Reading scores also declined nationally. Nationwide, scores also revealed a worrisome trend for democracy — slides in U.S. history and civics test scores, according to NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr.

The report showed a few key findings for students in Wisconsin testing in reading and math.

Fourth graders in 2022 tested at 240 in mathmatics, above the national average of 235 for public schools, but still lower than the score of 242 in 2019.

Meanwhile, in fourth-grade reading, students statewide scored 217, barely above the nationwide average of 216, and lower than a score of 222 in 1998 and 220 in 2019.

Wisconsin's students in eighth-grade mathematics scored 281 last year, above the nation's score of 273, but lower than the state's score in 2019, which was 289.

Reading for eighth graders was 262 last year, again, higher than the nationwide average of 259, but still lower than the state's score of 267 in 2019.

In Milwaukee Public Schools, mathematics and reading scores have continued to lag behind other large cities at a steadily worsening level, according to the report card. Fourth-grade mathematics scores in MPS dropped to 206 in 2022 compared to 215 in 2019. Reading scores were also lower than in years past for fourth graders.

Eleven percent of fourth-grade MPS students performed at or above the NAEP proficient level for mathematics, lower than the 17 percent in 2019.

Eighth graders at MPS scored an average of 246 on math tests in 2022, which is lower than their average score in 2019 (252) and lower than their average score in 2009 (251).

Eighth graders in MPS scored an average of 239 on reading tests in 2022, which is lower than their average score in 2019 (240) and lower than their average score in 2009 (241). On those tests:

• Fourteen percent of MPS eighth graders scored at or above the proficiency level in reading.
• 48 percent of MPS eighth graders scored at or above the basic level in reading.

The report didn’t break out how Wisconsin's eighth graders performed on U.S. history and civics tests, but the drop in scores nationally is “a national concern,” Carr, the NCES commissioner, said in a news release.

“Self-government depends on each generation of students leaving school with a complete understanding of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship,” she said. “But far too many students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government functions, and the historical significance of events.”

U.S. history test scores have dropped since 2018 among all students except among the very top-performing students. In civics, scores declined for lower- and middle-performing students and did not change for higher-performing students.

The number of students who performed below the basic level increased in both subjects, and about 4 in 10 eighth graders performed below the basic level in history.

Only 13 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the national proficiency level in U.S. history, the lowest proportion to reach that level in any subject on the tests, Dan McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of the NCES, said in the news release.

Only about one-fifth of students were at or above proficiency levels in civics, which is the second-lowest proportion of students reaching that level in any subject, he said. This was the first decline ever recorded by the civics assessment.