This post originally appeared at https://reforminggovernment.org/education-watch-graduation-attendance-collapsed-where-are-the-reporters/

From IRG Senior Research Director Quinton Klabon:

“The last bit of evidence is in: overextended pandemic policies destroyed Wisconsin’s kids.” Important 2021-2022 data like high school graduation and attendance only came out last week. Read more here and view the data here or here.

Additional context from IRG Senior Research Director Quinton Klabon:

• Kids are missing school. Outside of the 5 biggest districts, students missed 12 days per 176-day year. Low-income kids missed 22. In the biggest 5, they missed 29.
• Graduation rates went slightly up from 2019 to 91%, even for the low-income…despite plummeting test scores and 23% of Wisconsin students being chronically absent. Was this incredible resilience or passing unprepared students? I hope that it was legitimate.
• Milwaukee’s future is terrifying. Black students in Milwaukee missed 46 days last year. Black high schoolers missed 63, or over 3 months! Black graduation rates dropped to 61%. Suspensions for Black students went up 7%. We must address core problems so that these children can get futures worthy of them.
• One would think that “low-income kids missed a month of school last year” would be news. So far, only Superior’s reporters cared.