Parents underestimate school spending significantly, left in the dark about academic achievement and educational options
The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) published a new survey of Wisconsin parents in partnership with 50CAN, a national, nonpartisan education reform non-profit. The report highlights the lack of information parents have about their school system, including the true costs per student the state spends. WILL and 50CAN propose new measures to boost transparency and accountability in education. WILL is also hosting a Webinar with 50CAN on January 15 at 12:00 p.m. You can register for that event here.
The Quotes: WILL Research Director, Will Flanders, PhD, stated, “Parents have little knowledge of school budgeting decisions, how much school districts are spending as well as how poorly many students are doing in school. We believe these findings reflect DPI’s continued efforts to curtail accountability.”
Marc Porter Magee, CEO of 50CAN, stated, “The takeaway from our survey is simple, parents want more information, but it needs to be relevant and easy to understand. Our organization is willing to partner to bring greater transparency to academic achievement. It’s critical that Wisconsin policy makers take a serious look at our finding and work to address the information gap.”
Key Findings:
School satisfaction remains low despite an abundance of choices. While only 44% of parents report being very satisfied with their child’s school, Wisconsin ranks as the 10th best state for parents who feel they have options in selecting their child’s school.
Parents overestimate how well their children are doing in school. 43% of parents say that their child is “above grade level” in math, and 45% say the same in reading. However, according to state testing data, only 8.1% of students were rated as “Advanced” in English/Language Arts on the 2022-23 Forward Exam, and only 9.5% were in math.
Most parents significantly underestimate what we are spending per student. 61% of parents estimate that Wisconsin spends less than $15,000 per student, with 49% believing we spend less than $10,000 per student. In reality, the average district now spends $17,908 between state, local, and federal funds. No district spends less than $12,415.
Confidence in college and career readiness is low, and parents want more. The state lags behind national averages when it comes to parents’ belief in their children’s preparation for both college and a career. Only 30% of parents feel extremely confident that their children are being prepared for the workforce, while only 26% are extremely confident their child will be ready for college. Additionally, over 60% of Wisconsin parents expressed interest in dual enrollment, career and technical training, internship-based courses, and courses that result in industrial certification.
Our Solutions: WILL supports reinstating previous DPI accountability metrics that more accurately measured students’ academic performance. Additionally, WILL supports expanding educational options to ensure every family can access schools that best meet their needs.
WILL was also supportive of 2021 Act 89, which required DPI to institute a financial transparency dashboard for public school districts by the 2023-24 school year. To date, DPI has yet to implement this important tool that would better inform parents about their school’s finances.
More About the Survey Methodology: The survey was conducted by Edge Research and it surveyed over 20,000 parents and guardians nationwide. The Wisconsin sample included 403 parents and guardians of school-aged children (K-12th grade).
Read More:
Survey Data and Summary, 1.8.25
