September 4, 2013
When it comes to giving parents the power to choose the best education for their children, Wisconsin is one of the top states in America.
That’s according to the latest rankings from the Center for Education Reform, a group well versed in K-12 standards across the country. According to their rankings, Wisconsin’s emphasis on parental options – whether they are traditional public schools, charter schools, homeschooling, virtual schools, or voucher schools – has made the state a national leader when it comes to giving families the freedom to find the education that works best for their children.
CER lauded the state’s voucher program, strong charter school community, and the transparency of statewide education scores through the Department of Public Instruction’s website. Those tenets landed Wisconsin amongst the top ten states when it came to parental freedom. With a score of 77.5%, the state lagged behind top-scorer Indiana (87%) and fell behind other reform-minded states like Florida (2nd), Ohio (3rd), Louisiana (4th), Arizona (5th), and the District of Columbia (6th) to place seventh.
That was good enough to place Wisconsin second amongst Midwest states.
This ranking could increase in coming years thanks to recent legislation that created a modest statewide voucher program for parents of families that qualify for free and reduced price lunch at their local schools. That measure, combined with new educational testing standards that will provide more information on student and teacher performance in coming years, should boost Wisconsin’s parental power score.
For the complete rankings, click here.