Wisconsin Students First in Nation for Ninth Straight Year

Wisconsin students scored first in the nation on the ACT college entrance exam for the ninth consecutive year in 2001, according to the latest test results released Tuesday (August 14, 2001).

WEAC President Stan Johnson said Wisconsin's continued top performance on this major measurement of student achievement demonstrates that "Wisconsin’s great schools place students in classrooms that work."

He said it is a huge credit to the teachers and educational support professionals in Wisconsin public schools that they have been able to maintain the nation's best education system under increasingly difficult circumstances.

"We will not be able to keep our great schools, teachers and staff unless the current school funding system is fixed,” Johnson said.

Johnson said state-imposed revenue controls are forcing school districts throughout Wisconsin to make severe program and service cuts, often eliminating or reducing programs that benefit all students.

“We are proud of our students’ continued dominance on the ACT,” Johnson said. “Wisconsin residents – teachers, administrators, parents and community leaders - must not let this success mask the failures of the current funding system to ensure that every child in every Wisconsin community attends a great school.

"We must strengthen our investment in student achievement in order to create new opportunities for every child. Our challenge is to repeal revenue controls, restore genuine collective bargaining for school employees, and prepare children for the challenges of the future while celebrating our successes.”

Wisconsin students recorded a composite score of 22.2, compared to the national average of 21.0 in the latest test.

State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster praised students, their parents, teachers, and schools for this demonstration of academic excellence.

“Young people in Wisconsin have been taking the ACT college admissions test for a long time, and they keep doing a great job. This accomplishment wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of students to their studies and the support of parents, schools, and entire communities. We must continue to invest in our young people, and make education our state’s top priority,” Burmaster said.

“While Wisconsin can compete with any state in the nation on standardized tests, we must do a better job of closing the achievement gap in our state,” she said.

More than two-thirds of the state’s graduating class took the ACT at some time during their high school career, but just 8 percent of ACT test-takers were students of color. Scores for white students were up one-tenth of a point from last year, while scores for students from every other racial/ethnic group were down from the prior year. Scores for African-American students have declined six-tenths of a point over five years.

“The gap in achievement between white students and students of color, between students of comparative wealth and those from disadvantaged backgrounds is unacceptable,” Burmaster said. “We must invest in all children and create opportunity for every child.”

Note: DPI reports that Wisconsin students scored highest in the nation for five years in a row, while WEAC reports they have been first for nine years in a row. The difference involves interpretation of the results from 1996, when Wisconsin tied for first in the nation. In the other years, Wisconsin students were alone in first place.

Posted August 15, 2001

DPI's report on 2001 ACT results (pdf file)