Reading and Race: Wisconsin's Children Left Behind

In the 2006 Wisconsin gubernatorial race, Gov. Jim Doyle ran on his record of great successes in education.

Although it's been changed since then, Doyle's campaign website boasted:

Governor Jim Doyle: Fighting for Our Schools, Lifting Up Our Kids

Governor Jim Doyle’s mother was a teacher. First Lady Jessica Doyle has been an educator for over 25 years. Governor Doyle is a product of Wisconsin’s public schools.

He knows the value of education, and just how important good schools are.

As Governor he has fought for our public schools – and he’s gotten results.

Increasing Expectations, Standards, and Opportunities for All Wisconsin Students

Wisconsin has the best public schools in the country. Wisconsin students score at the top in national tests like the ACT. But Governor Doyle knows that we cannot sit back and rest on our laurels. He believes that high expectations of our students, and high standards in the classroom, are the keys to continued success.

If Wisconsin has the best public schools in the country, then the country is doomed.

Doyle was touting the accomplishments of the public schools even as national studies were pointing out the sorry state of education in Wisconsin.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee public high schools have one of the worst graduation rates in the country among large school districts, according to a new report that takes the unusual step of trying to make comparisons across large school districts as well as states.

Ninety-four of the 100 largest school districts in the country have higher graduation rates than Milwaukee, where the graduation rate is 45%, according to a study by the Manhattan Institute, a think tank in New York.

That's a horrible ranking, nearly rock bottom.

That was good news compared to the latest figures on reading and race.

The average reading ability for fourth- and eighth-grade black students in Wisconsin is the lowest of any state, and the reading achievement gap between black students and white students in Wisconsin continues to be the worst in the nation.

Those are among the facts found in a mass of testing results released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, the latest results from a long-standing federal program called the National Assessment of Education Progress. It is the closest thing to a nationwide standardized testing program for reading and math ability.

The gap between blacks and whites was worse in Wisconsin than, say, Louisiana? Yes.

The average score for black fourth-graders in reading was lower than, say, Washington, D.C., or Alabama? Yes.

"I find it very distressing to look at this," said Elizabeth Burmaster, Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction. "There isn't anything more important (in education). This is the civil rights issue of our country."

"It's upsetting to me," said William Andrekopoulos, superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools. "This is the very reason why I've been talking about improving instruction over and over again."

In the area of education alone, I don't understand why Wisconsin voters gave Doyle another term.

His claims that he made education a top priority in his first term are BS.

He has failed miserably.

Wisconsin has the worst racial gap in the nation, the WORST!

...Wendell Harris, chairman of the education committee of the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP, said, "I know we've got to do better in school, there's no question about that."

But, he said, "really, from my standpoint, (it's) families. . . . We can't keep making excuses for parents."

Harris said many parents live amid difficult circumstances, but "we have to do our best to try to get our children educated whatever our own circumstances are."

He added, "We have to become more willing to hold everyone accountable and not just the teachers."

Burmaster said the high and rising level of poverty in Wisconsin was a big factor behind the gaps. She said she wanted to know whether other states had the same proportions of students from low-income homes as Wisconsin.

"It's not just an achievement gap," she said. "It's an economic gap. It's a gap in health. It's a quality of life gap. All of those things influence student achievement."

I give Harris credit for holding parents accountable and acknowledging their important role in their children's education.

I think the poor performance of students has a lot to do with a lack of parental involvement and support.

If parents aren't bothering to make sure that their children show up at school, it follows that the students from those homes would do poorly.

Burmaster seems eager to point out that Wisconsin's dead last ranking isn't about the quality of education in the public schools.

She may be the Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction, but she's declaring herself to be free of responsibility for the poor performance of Wisconsin's students. The problem is poverty, and not her fault.

Sure.

The frustrating thing about this is government officials will no doubt want to raise taxes to better education in the state. Raising taxes will negatively impact business, result in job loss, and increase poverty.

If as Burmaster suggests that poverty is the root cause of Wisconsin's dismal national ranking on race and reading, then the likely proposed solution, higher taxes, will only exacerbate the problem.

Granted, there are many factors that contribute to Wisconsin's disgraceful ranking; but Burmaster's shameless attempt to distance herself from the state's failing schools is pathetic.