Madison school district achievement scores
are flat, at best

For all of the earnest palaver about racial equity, etc., the fact is that the racial achievement gap in Madison’s public schools remains like that stone standing in the water — unmoved.

In Math, 65% of black students test below basic proficiency. In reading and writing, 60% are sub-par — virtually unchanged in the last three years and 2½ times worse than white students.

Worse, student achievement in Madison schools dropped to 58.2 from 63.5 five years ago (on a 100-point scale), according to the Department of Public Instruction.

Chris Rickert, the excellent education reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, argues that the comparison is “not apples to apples.” Indeed, DPI changes its report card formula more often than a backwoods moonshiner.

The State Journal contends that a fair comparison can only extend back to the 2015-16 school year. Fair enough. No matter how one slices it, however, student achievement scores in the Madison Metropolitan School District are sliding down the slippery slope: from 60.6 in 2015-16 to 58.2 last school year.

Here are the year-by-year, overall student achievement scores as recorded by DPI. See if you can spot the trend:

Student Achievement scores

Student achievement measures proficiency in English language and mathematics — to me, the purest indicator of student achievement.

DPI throws other ingredients into the mix in order to devise an “overall score.” Something called “district growth” factors a full third of the score and “closing gaps” and “on-track readiness” another one-quarter each, relegating actual student achievement to only 18% of the overall score.

So let’s examine those overall scores. Even taking 2015-16 as your baseline, scores since then are basically unchanged — a little worse and a little bit better.

Overall Madison Scores

100-point scale, DPI

Blaska’s Bottom Line: See me after school. Time to stop accusing teachers of racism, quit treating students as victims, restore discipline, and demand performance. Blaska did not eat the students’ homework. Visit my campaign website at blaskaforsaferschools.org