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Education

Wisconsin Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 11th in Nation

January 03, 2015 1 min read
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After a one-year hiatus from issuing state grades, the 19th annual edition of Quality Counts—Preparing to Launch: Early Childhood’s Academic Countdown—resumes Education Week’s long-standing tradition of grading the states on their performance. This year, those grades return in a newer, leaner form that focuses on outcomes rather than on policy and processes. A state’s overall grade is the average of its scores on the three separate indices tracked by the report.

This year, Wisconsin finishes 11th among the 50 states and District of Columbia, with an overall score of 78.9 out of 100 points and a grade of C-plus. The nation as a whole posts a grade of C.

BRIC ARCHIVE

Diving into the findings for the three graded indices, Wisconsin earns a B in the Chance-for-Success category and ranks 14th. The average state earns a C-plus. In School Finance, Wisconsin receives a B-minus and ranks 12th, while for the K-12 Achievement Index it finishes 15th with a grade of C-minus. The average state earns grades of C and C-minus in School Finance and K-12 Achievement, respectively.

Quality Counts 2015 also focuses on early-childhood education as its special theme, examining how new academic demands and accountability pressures are altering the learning environment for young children and the educators serving them. For this year’s report, the Education Week Research Center issued state and national grades for a new Early Education Index, which draws on an original analysis of participation in early-education programs, poverty-based gaps in enrollment, and trends over time.

Wisconsin earns a D-plus and ranks 36th on the Early Education Index, which incorporates data from eight specific indicators. The nation as a whole earns a D-plus.

Wisconsin’s 2014 Highlights Report includes the state’s full report card, including results for each of the nearly-40 indicators that make up Quality Counts’ overall grading rubric. This year’s State Highlights Report also includes the Early Education Index and a special analysis of data on enrollment in early-childhood programs.

Download Highlights Report

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.

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