For the last 30 years, the Public Policy Forum has collected and analyzed education data to produce an annual report on the demographics, academic performance, and finances of public school districts in southeast Wisconsin. In the three decades of producing this report, few years have exhibited as much change and transformation as this one.
The 2014-15 school year saw a number of changes to student demographics, as well as a shifting regulatory environment. Southeast Wisconsin continues to enroll the majority of public school students in the state, but the number and makeup of those students both are changing. A new state assessment aligned to new academic standards – the Badger Exam – was implemented, but just as quickly discarded. The biennial budget process served as a vehicle for lawmakers to propose and adopt a number of provisions that modify and change state education policies.
This report chronicles these and other changes while providing trend analysis to quantify and understand the educational landscape in southeast Wisconsin.