(The Center Square) — The latest snapshot of Wisconsin schools shows many schools are seeing fewer students, while others continue to spend more and get worse results.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty opened its 2025 School Scorecard Dashboard on Thursday.
The dashboard is an interactive way for parents and policy makers to see how schools across the state are doing.
WILL said the dashboard tracks several things, including:
● An interactive map of Wisconsin’s school districts
● Enrollment by grade level
● Absenteeism
● Disciplinary Incidents
● Math and reading test scores
● Local school spending
“WILL’s School Scorecard Dashboard gives parents, taxpayers, and stakeholders key data on school district performance,” WILL’s research director Will Flanders said. “With this updated tool, Wisconsinites can hold districts accountable and make better informed decisions about education in their communities.”
The dashboard paints a dire picture of Wisconsin’s enrollment crisis.
“…298, or 70.6%, of districts have seen enrollment decline since 2015,” WILL noted. “Statewide, first-grade enrollment is only 76% of the size of 12th-grade enrollment.”
But fewer kids doesn’t mean less spending for many public schools in Wisconsin.
WILL’s dashboard shows “Milwaukee Public Schools spend more per student (up 19%) but teach less students (enrollment down 13.4% since 2015), and academic achievement continues to lag the rest of the state with Math and ELA proficiency below 25%.”
Wisconsin’s enrollment bright spot remains school choice.
“Choice enrollment is up 389% from 2016 in Sheboygan Schools,” WILL’s numbers show. “Choice enrollment is up 556% from 2016 in Oshkosh Schools.”
You can find the dashboard, and see your local school’s performance, at KnowMySchoolWI.com.
