How do Wisconsin’s schools compare to those in other states? A new Wisconsin Budget Project analysis asks this question, and finds that Wisconsin, once a national leader in educational performance, now ranks close to the national average in many measures of support for education.

Here’s an excerpt from the analysis:

Wisconsin schools have long been an engine of our state’s economic growth. We have depended on a well-educated workforce, grounded in high quality public schools supported by state dollars, to lay the foundation for our state’s economy. But that may all be changing.

Over the last few years in Wisconsin, growth in support for classroom learning has not kept up with the national average, state support for schools has declined, and student/teacher ratios have increased. The massive cuts to schools in the 2011-13 budget will likely exacerbate these troubling trends.

For more about trends in state support for schools and student/teacher ratios, see the analysis here.

Tamarine Cornelius