• Wisconsin is lagging in closing the education gap
• African American and lower income students far behind white students
• Other states showing better improvement

A recent report by The Education Trust shows Wisconsin is behind in closing the education gap between rich and poor. It especially notes a stark lag in the gap between black and white students. The Education Trust is an advocacy group working to end education inequality.

Daria Hall, director of K-12 grade policy for The Education Trust, said the findings show more than just a lag in achievement.

"There is more to this than gaps between whites and blacks in achievement," Hall said. "The problem's root is in the opportunity for achievement itself."

Patrick Gasper, spokesman for Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, said the report shows a problem that is being worked on, and shows why standards are changing.

"The gap is something that must be addressed and is being addressed," Gasper said. "Especially in areas where poverty is high, like Milwaukee Public Schools, we must change standards to close the gap."

The report shows major disparities at many critical junctures.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a testing program used by The Education Trust, 41 percent of fourth grade white students scored at a proficient rate or higher on the reading exam, as opposed to 11 percent of black students.

At the eighth grade math level, 42 percent of white students scored at a proficient or higher rate. Only 6 percent of black students reached the same levels, a gap of 36 percent.

"You see a stark difference in Wisconsin schools as opposed to other states when you look at the critical milestones in education," Hall said.

The gap continues through high school and into college. Only 52 percent of black students graduate high school, compared to 92 percent of white students in Wisconsin. In college, 52 percent of white students graduate, while only 39 percent of black students do so.

In Iowa, better progress was made in closing the gap. At the fourth grade reading level, there was only a 23 percent gap. There was only a 25 percent gap at the eighth grade level, as opposed to Wisconsin's 36 percent gap.

At the high school level, Iowa outperformed Wisconsin. Blacks in Iowa have a 74 percent graduation rate, while 88 percent of white students do. That 14 percent gap contrasts with Wisconsin's 40 percent gap.

However, Wisconsin did outperform other states in some areas. Whites and Hispanics have comparatively higher graduation rates than other states in Wisconsin. Wisconsin was also ninth in eighth grade science nationwide.

Wisconsin was 15th in federal, state and local spending per student in a 2005-'06 study by The Education Trust, but it was 32nd in terms of student access to qualified teachers.

"These reports are meant to be used to improve education and close the gaps," said Stephanie Germeraad, a spokesperson for The Education Trust.

Wisconsin is slightly closing the gap, but at a much slower rate than other states.

"When you look at the data, you see improvement," said Hall, a Milwaukee native and graduate of Rufus King High School. "It's just not as much of an improvement as is needed."