Statistics and Facts About Wisconsin's Great Schools

Wisconsin public schools are among the best in the nation, according to objective measures of educational accomplishment. Wisconsin's great schools are ranked:

First for the percentage of highly qualified teachers in the nation. In Wisconsin, 98.6% of the teachers meet the standards for being "highly qualified" under the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (Associated Press review 2002-03.)

Eighth on the overall ACT college entrance examination, ranking fifth highest in science. For 16 consecutive years prior, Wisconsin high school students scored 1st or 2nd on the exam. (ACT, Inc. "National and State Scores," 2007.)

Second for graduation rates. Wisconsin's graduation rate is the second highest in the country with 89.6% of public school students receiving a diploma. (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.)

The lowest in dropout rates. Wisconsin's 1.7% dropout rate is the lowest in the nation. (National Center for Education Statistics, "Public High School Dropouts and Completers from the Common Core of Data".)

Fifth on the SAT. Wisconsin students had the fifth highest SAT college entrance exam scores in the country in 2007.

Ninth in the percentage of 4th graders scoring at the highest level in math in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (National Center for Education Statistics, "Digest of Education Statistics," 2007.)

Twenty-second in percentage of 4th graders scoring at the highest level in reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. (National Center for Education Statistics, "Digest of Education Statistics," 2007.)

One of the eight "smartest states" based on the quality of public elementary and secondary schools. (Education State Rankings 2006-07: "Pre K-12 Education in the 50 United States" by Morgan Quitno Press: Lawrence, KS. May 2008.)

In the top 10 for Advanced Placement scores. Of Wisconsin high school students taking Advanced Placement exams, 68% earn a score high enough to qualify for college credit. (College Board, "2007 AP National and State Summary Report Tables.")

Among the safest in the nation. Wisconsin has the lowest number of high school students carrying guns to school. Wisconsin has the thirteenth-lowest level of students who felt too unsafe to go to school. (Center for Disease Control, "Youth Risk Behavior," 2005.)