2. Key to the future of this state, of this country, is how well our kids are
being educated. The NAEP (National Assessment of Educational
Progress) is an exam given every two years, across the country, that
provides a look at how students are performing.
In 2015, the scores and ranking of Wisconsin 8th graders were:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/statecomparisons/acrossyear.aspx?usrSelections=1,MAT,2,1,across,0,2
How Are We Doing?
WI Score US Average WI Rank in US
Reading 270 265 8
Math 289 282 6
3. Wisconsin did better than Texas in Math. Right?
How Are We Doing?
Wisconsin Texas
Math 289 284
4. Wisconsin did better than Texas overall. Yet each race scored less than
Texas. How can that be?
How Are We Doing?
Wisconsin Texas
White 296 298
Black 249 267
Hispanic 271 277
Asian 295 312
Original
Overall
289 284
5. The reason Wisconsin does better than Texas overall is because it has a
very different demographic distribution. Wisconsin has far more whites
than Texas, while Texas has far more Hispanics – and since whites have
higher scores than Hispanics, Wisconsin is at a relative advantage.
How Are We Doing?
8th Grade Math
Wisconsin Texas
White 296 298
Black 249 267
Hispanic 271 277
Asian 295 312
Overall 289 284
% Distribution by Race
74%
10%
10%
4%
31%
13%
51%
4%
WI
TX
6. When we adjust both states, by assuming both have the same
demographic distribution as the US overall, Wisconsin’s score drops by 6
points while Texas’s increases by 4. And Wisconsin’s national ranking
drops from 6th to 19th, while Texas jumps from 22nd to 3rd.
How Are We Doing?
8th Grade Math NAEP Scores
Wisconsin Texas U.S. Distribution Wisconsin Texas
White 296 298 52%
Black 249 267 15%
Hispanic 271 277 24%
Asian 295 312 6%
Original
Overall
289 284 6 22
Adjusted
Overall
283 288 19 3
Ranking
7. The Wisconsin vs Texas score comparison is a classic example of the
fundamental challenge working with any data: to make an apples-to-
apples comparison.
vs.
How Are We Doing?
