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Fact check/Did Tony Evers fix the achievement gaps in Milwaukee and Madison schools?

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Fact check: Did Tony Evers fix the achievement gaps in Milwaukee and Madison schools?

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March 31, 2017
By Amée LaTour

In Wisconsin’s nonpartisan election for state superintendent of public instruction, two-term incumbent Tony Evers is facing Lowell Holtz. Holtz claims on his campaign website, “Tony Evers has had 16 years to fix the achievement gaps in Milwaukee and Madison, and he has failed.”[1][2]

Is Holtz correct that Evers failed to improve the achievement gaps in Madison and Milwaukee during the past 16 years?[3]

The superintendent of public instruction oversees several aspects of the state’s public schools, including academic performance, teacher licensing, and the disbursement of funds. The superintendent (or deputy) is not solely responsible for addressing achievement gaps in local districts.[4]

The gaps in test scores among black students, Hispanic students, and white students in Madison and Milwaukee widened between at least the 2005-2006 school year and the 2013-2014 school year (earliest and latest data available).[5]

The gap in four-year graduation rates between black students and white students widened in Milwaukee between 2010 and 2015, and the gap between Hispanic students and white students in the district was largely unchanged. The gap in four-year graduation rates between black students, Hispanic students, and white students narrowed in Madison in the same period (earliest and latest data available).[5]

Background

Tony Evers and Lowell Holtz are running against one another after placing first and second in the February 21 primary (69.4 percent and 22.9 percent respectively). The general election is on April 4.[6]

Tony Evers was Wisconsin’s deputy superintendent of public instruction from 2001 to 2009. He was elected as superintendent in 2009 and re-elected in 2013.

Lowell Holtz served as superintendent for three Wisconsin school districts: the Palmyra Area School District (2002 to 2006); the Beloit School District (2006 to 2010); and the Whitnall School District (2010 to 2016). Holtz also ran for state superintendent in the 2009 primary and placed fifth.

Achievement gaps

Achievement gaps at the national level between black students, Hispanic students, and white students based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test have narrowed in both math and reading by one to six points among both fourth and eighth graders. The widest gap as of 2015 was between black students and white students in eighth grade math (31 points), and the narrowest was between Hispanic students and white students in fourth grade math (18 points).[7][8]

Statewide in Wisconsin, some gaps in test scores have narrowed while others have widened. In math and reading, the gaps in test scores between black students and white students (in both fourth and eighth grade) were between eight and 17 points wider than the national average as of 2015. Test score gaps between Wisconsin’s Hispanic students and white students were wider than the national average by three points for fourth and eighth grade math, while the gap was one point narrower for eighth grade reading and two points narrower for fourth grade reading as of 2015.[8]

Wisconsin ranked sixth nationwide in the proportion of students who graduated high school within four years, at 88.4 percent, based on 2015 data, the latest available. That same year, the state also had the widest gap in four-year graduation rates between white students and black students—92.9 percent to 64.1 percent, respectively. The four-year graduation rate for Wisconsin’s Hispanic students was 77.5 percent.[9]

In addition to administering federal testing, Wisconsin administered its own tests to third through eighth graders as well as tenth graders on math, reading, science, social studies, and language arts.[10][11] On the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination, the Madison district posted wider gaps in scoring than the state average, while Milwaukee’s gaps were narrower than the state average in both math and reading. Scores among white, Hispanic, and black students were all below the state average in Milwaukee.[5]






There are also gaps in four-year graduation rates among black students, Hispanic students, and white students statewide, as well as in Madison and Milwaukee, as detailed below.[12]



Historically, per-pupil funding in Madison and Milwaukee has been higher than the statewide average. In the 2013-2014 school year, Milwaukee spent $14,624 and Madison Metropolitan spent $14,858 per pupil, compared to the statewide average of $12,707. Madison and Milwaukee also receive more than most Wisconsin districts of federal funding to assist schools with high proportions of students from low-income families.[13] In the 2013-2014 school year, Milwaukee received the highest allotment in the state ($83,862,000), and Madison received the fourth-highest ($7,150,000).[14][15]

Candidate positions

Ballotpedia attempted to contact Evers about Holtz’s claim but did not receive a response. When asked about the achievement gap by the Wisconsin State Journal, Evers stated that Wisconsin needs a budget that “distributes the funds equitably, not equally,” and that “[w]e need to recruit more teachers of color.”[16]

In 2014, Evers’ office launched the Promoting Excellence for All initiative with the focus of closing the achievement gaps and improving achievement among students of color.[17]

For his part, Holtz has expressed support for expanding the state’s three school choice programs to allow more parents to enroll their children in private school, stating that the increase in competition between private and public schools would encourage local districts to improve. He also supports school partnerships with local businesses to guide workforce development.[1]

Conclusion

In Wisconsin’s nonpartisan race for superintendent of public instruction, two-term incumbent Tony Evers is facing Lowell Holtz, who claims on his campaign website that “Tony Evers has had 16 years to fix the achievement gaps in Milwaukee and Madison, and he has failed.”[1]

The superintendent of public instruction oversees several aspects of the state’s public school system and is not solely responsible for closing the achievement gaps in local districts. However, test scores and graduation rates over time indicate that most of the achievement gaps between black students, Hispanic students, and white students in the Madison and Milwaukee districts have not improved since 2005, the earliest year for which data is available.

See also

Sources and Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kidservative, “Dr. Lowell Holtz, Candidate for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction,” accessed March 21, 2017
  2. ↑ Holtz referred Ballotpedia to resources documenting gaps between white and black students and between white and Hispanic students.
  3. ↑ We are using test scores and graduation rates as proxies for achievement.
  4. ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, “Subchapter II, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 115.28, General duties,” accessed March 23, 2017
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website features the Wisconsin Information System for Education Data Dashboard (WISEdash), which provides data on graduation rates and test performance sortable by district and various demographics. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “WISEdash: Wisconsin Information System for Eductaion Data Dashboard,” accessed March 21, 2017
  6. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, “2017 Spring Primary Results-Superintendent-County Report,” accessed March 20, 2017
  7. ↑ The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides state comparisons of scores, on a scale of 0 to 500, for fourth and eighth graders’ reading and math assessments as well as comparisons of achievement gaps in each state. The NAEP has been administered every two years since 2003 to a sample of schools and students selected to be representative of the nation’s schools and students. Results are available for tests offered with accommodations for English language learners and students with disabilities for both grades and each race from 2003 on. See Nation’s Report Card, “Overview of the Nation’s Report Card,” accessed March 21, 2017
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Nation’s Report Card, “State Score Gaps,” accessed March 20, 2017 Use Math/Reading tabs, and 4th Grade/8th Grade tabs, and “Select Student Group Pair” tab to navigate.
  9. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, “Table 1. Public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), by race/ethnicity and selected demographics for the United States, the 50 states, and the District of Columbia: School year 2014–15,” September 15, 2016
  10. ↑ The Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination (WKCE) was developed by the state Department of Public Instruction, Wisconsin educators, and CTB/McGraw-Hill, a company that publishes educational assessments, and the test was updated several times since its inception in 1992. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “WKCE,” accessed March 21, 2017
  11. ↑ In 2012, the state raised the math and reading scores required to meet proficient or advanced levels in an effort to better align the test with the National Assessment for Education Progress. See Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “Every Child a Graduate, College and Career Ready,” accessed March 23, 2017
  12. ↑ WISEdash’s data on the percentage of students who graduated high school within four years dates back to the 2009-2010 school year.
  13. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, “Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (Title I, Part A),” accessed March 26, 2017
  14. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, “ELSi tableGenerator,” accessed March 22, 2017
  15. ↑ Racine Unified District received the second-highest Title I Part A funding with $9,811,000 and Green Bay Area district the third-highest at $7,404,000.
  16. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, “3 challenge Tony Evers for state's top schools post,” February 20, 2017
  17. ↑ Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, “Promoting Excellence for All,” accessed March 23, 2017
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Launched in October 2015 and active through October 2018, Fact Check by Ballotpedia examined claims made by elected officials, political appointees, and political candidates at the federal, state, and local levels. We evaluated claims made by politicians of all backgrounds and affiliations, subjecting them to the same objective and neutral examination process. As of 2025, Ballotpedia staff periodically review these articles to revaluate and reaffirm our conclusions. Please email us with questions, comments, or concerns about these articles. To learn more about fact-checking, click here.

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