NEPC Review: 'Beyond Race--What Really Drives Wisconsin's Achievement Gap' (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, March 2026)
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| Title: | NEPC Review: 'Beyond Race--What Really Drives Wisconsin's Achievement Gap' (Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, March 2026) |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jaekyung Lee, University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC) |
| Source: | National Education Policy Center. 2026. |
| Availability: | National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 14 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative Opinion Papers |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education |
| Descriptors: | Achievement Gap, Academic Achievement, African American Students, White Students, English Instruction, Language Arts, Reading Achievement, Elementary School Students, Racism, Power Structure, Race, Poverty, Equal Education, Educational Opportunities, Criticism, Reports, Disabilities, Family Problems |
| Geographic Terms: | Wisconsin |
| Abstract: | A new Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) report highlights the extreme achievement gap between White and Black students in Wisconsin, particularly in ELA/reading at the elementary school level. The report criticizes education policymakers for their purported misdiagnosis of the problem as "systemic racism." It argues that factors presented in the report as separate from race, including poverty, disability and family instability, account for the racial disparities and illustrate the need for newer approaches. While the report highlights important issues and offers some simplistic analysis of the influence of poverty and disability, it fails to acknowledge systemic racial inequalities in educational opportunities in schools. It also overlooks racial differences in interactive effects of family and school learning environments. Poverty, disability and family instability are not "beyond race"--they are intertwined with race. Moreover, the report's promotion of the Science of Reading phonics-based approach alone, based on what is known as the "Mississippi Miracle," is unwarranted, given that explanations for Mississippi's huge reading score gains are attributable to a combination of other factors--and that they evaporate by eighth grade. Except for a timely nudge to take another hard look at how to address achievement gaps, policymakers will find the report's findings and recommendations of little practical value. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED681113 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | A new Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) report highlights the extreme achievement gap between White and Black students in Wisconsin, particularly in ELA/reading at the elementary school level. The report criticizes education policymakers for their purported misdiagnosis of the problem as "systemic racism." It argues that factors presented in the report as separate from race, including poverty, disability and family instability, account for the racial disparities and illustrate the need for newer approaches. While the report highlights important issues and offers some simplistic analysis of the influence of poverty and disability, it fails to acknowledge systemic racial inequalities in educational opportunities in schools. It also overlooks racial differences in interactive effects of family and school learning environments. Poverty, disability and family instability are not "beyond race"--they are intertwined with race. Moreover, the report's promotion of the Science of Reading phonics-based approach alone, based on what is known as the "Mississippi Miracle," is unwarranted, given that explanations for Mississippi's huge reading score gains are attributable to a combination of other factors--and that they evaporate by eighth grade. Except for a timely nudge to take another hard look at how to address achievement gaps, policymakers will find the report's findings and recommendations of little practical value. |
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