Test Scores Show MPS Spirals to Bottom

Vetoed Reforms Could Change Trajectory

Madison – Milwaukee Public Schools are in a crisis. On Monday, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test scores were released. State Senator Alberta Darling, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, says the test scores are bad news for our state’s future.

“Although our state tests have indicated this, we now know where Milwaukee stands with other major U.S. cities.” Darling said, “This is heartbreaking, our kids deserve better and instead we have bureaucrats fighting bipartisan reforms while schools continue to try the same failed methods that got us here.”

According to the 2022 NAEP Results

• Wisconsin has the largest racial achievement gap of any state in the nation
• African American kids in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) are last in the nation in reading
• Kids in MPS are two years behind kids in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Unfortunately, Governor Tony Evers twice vetoed a bipartisan bill that’s worked in other states to improve our support and interventions around kids who struggle to read,” Darling said, “The governor and his DPI Secretary continue to protect the failing status quo.”

Sadly, the failing NAEP scores don’t come as a surprise. Sixty-four percent of fourth-graders are not proficient in reading. Our state ranks dead last in reading achievement among black students. Hispanic students dropped from 1st in the nation to 28th while white students fell from 6th to 27th. Despite historic funding for public education, less than one-third of students are proficient in English or math.

Senator Darling represents portions of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties. 

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