Wisconsin

In response to new test scores, Wisconsin senator urges more K-12 investment

Published

10 months ago

February 3, 2025

In response to new test scores, Wisconsin senator urges more K-12 investment

The National Center for Education Statistics this week released the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress — also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

On national reading and math exams, the scores of Wisconsin fourth and eighth graders remain mostly unchanged since 2022. And the state scored in the upper half of the nation in both subjects.

But according to the data, Wisconsin continues to have the largest test score gap between Black and white students than any other state. Milwaukee Public Schools has among the lowest scores for reading in math out of the 26 urban districts surveyed.

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“The first thing is, there’s no test results that can come back from (the National Assessment of Educational Progress) where we get to give up on our kids,” state Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

Larson, who represents a district in southeast Milwaukee County and serves on the state Senate Committee on Education, also noted the negative effect that poverty has on educational outcomes.

He talked with host Kate Archer Kent about what the Legislature can do to help bring scores up in Milwaukee and around the state.

“Wisconsin Today” reached out to two members of the state Assembly Committee on Education for an interview, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Kate Archer Kent: Wisconsin continues to have the widest test score gap between Black and white students in the country. What is the Legislature doing to close this racial disparity gap?

Chris Larson: There has been a continued disinvestment in Milwaukee. We unfortunately have one of the most segregated communities in the country. Therefore, if you are underfunding our large urban area — which in the state of Wisconsin is primarily Milwaukee — that’s where you are going to be hurting everybody within that school district, and you’re definitely hurting students of color.

I don’t think that’s acceptable. If we would have adjusted for inflation to where we were funding on a per pupil basis 15 years ago, our pupils would be valued $3,000 more than they are right now. Combined with a focused attack from Republicans on Milwaukee, that adds up.

KAK: Superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement that the Legislature has let public school funding fall behind. She also connected these test results to under-resourced schools, and is asking for $4 billion in new spending in our two-year budget proposal. What level of state aid do you support?

CL: We have tried to wag our fingers at schools and say, “Do more with less,” and throw more hurdles at them, requiring them to have new requirements without funding those. There’s $50 million sitting in the state coffers that were assigned to deal with literacy. Specifically, schools have had to do it, but the money has not been forwarded to them to actually tackle those problems.

So the numbers, while it’s stunning — $4 billion to be able to meet the investment for our public schools — that’s also the amount of money that we have in our state surplus. So this is the time to do it. There is no cheap way out of this.

Think of your favorite teacher. Was their motivation the paycheck? For most of them, it’s the mission. It’s the service to the kids and making a difference. We should not exploit that by paying teachers a starting wage of $34,000 which is less than a legislator gets. I introduced a bill to make sure every teacher in the state is making at least as much as a legislator.

KAK: Would you put the bulk of the state’s budget surplus into education?

CL: Yes. I mean, there’s a lot of things that we can and should be investing in, but there’s nothing in my mind that’s more important than making sure that our kids are caught up.

KAK: You mentioned the $50 million to advance new literacy teaching programs yet to be released by the legislature’s budget committee. What are the next steps there in the session?

CL: The governor mentioned it in his State of the State. I imagine he’s going to continue to try and put pressure on the Republicans in Joint Finance to release those dollars. I’m not sure what they are waiting for, but the budget was signed off on. That money should have been released to go into schools.

Mind you, it wasn’t enough to be able to fund the literacy programs as they were outlined in the law, but the money was specifically added to get Superintendent Underly on board and to be able to get a lot of Democrats, including the governor on board to say, you have to actually fund this. So to have this Lucy and Charlie Brown situation where they decide to pull the money back after the bill was passed. It’s unethical, and the person who’s swinging and missing is our kids.

KAK: State Superintendent Jill Underly is calling for special education costs to eventually be reimbursed at 90 percent. You told WPR last fall that you support that rate. Would an increase in special education funding lead to improved test scores help close the achievement gap between Black and white students?

CL: Yes, undoubtedly. There’s a recognition by the state that students who have an IEP or Individualized Education Program — some type of a disability or something that’s holding them back just a little bit — they need a special education. They need direct attention from educators and professionals.

So the state, in the past, has said that we are going to fund that so that you are held harmless. This is important because public schools have a higher percentage of students with disabilities than private schools — even those that take private vouchers.

Now, private voucher schools get 90 percent of those costs reimbursed. Public schools get 34 percent, and it’s not even a guarantee. They have to fight every other school district in the state for it. So the real number is actually going to end up probably being less than 30 percent. Schools should not be penalized for trying to bring every student up to proficiency and making sure that no one is left behind.

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Wisconsin

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Published

1 hour ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Can ‘completely different’ Wisconsin volleyball upset Texas in NCAA tournament?

Wisconsin and Texas volleyball teams will face each other in the NCAA regional finals after first meeting near the start of the season.
Key factors for Wisconsin include overcoming Texas’ physicality and managing their talented pins.
The Badgers’ ability to handle adversity in a hostile environment will be crucial for a potential return to the Final Four.

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball’s first weekend of the 2025 season featured a high-profile match against Texas.

Wisconsin’s either final or penultimate weekend of the season – depending on whether UW can advance – also features a high-profile match against Texas.

But both sides will caution against reading too much into Wisconsin’s Aug. 31 loss to Texas ahead of a rematch in the NCAA tournament regional finals as each team seeks a return to the Final Four.

“We are completely different teams than what we saw however many months ago that was,” Wisconsin middle blocker Carter Booth said.

Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said almost the exact same thing in the Longhorns’ press conference, and his players echoed similar sentiments as well.

“I feel like both teams are just a lot more developed at this point in the year,” Texas setter Ella Swindle said. “At the beginning of the season, we were kind of just figuring out who we are and who we want to be. So now at this point, I feel like we know our identities, and we’re ready to go out and battle.”

Here are three keys for the much-improved Badgers to have a better outcome against the also-much-improved Longhorns in the NCAA tournament:

How efficient can Wisconsin’s attack be against Texas’ physicality at net?

Wisconsin’s path to advancing in the Texas regional has already required defeating one team with outstanding physicality at the net, and it is unlikely to get any easier in the regional finals.

“I was watching Stanford warm up, and you’re like, ‘Jiminy Crickets,’” Sheffield said. “It’s like watching the NBA dunking contest. It’s like, ‘Holy cow.’ They’re just bouncing balls on the 10-foot line and just really dynamic and impressive. And Texas probably has it even more than that.”

Texas’ physicality was abundantly apparent in its three-set sweep over Indiana in the regional semifinals. The Longhorns had a 12-2 advantage in blocks, and Indiana committed 23 attack errors. Going back to when UW faced Texas in August, the Badgers committed a season-high 26 attack errors despite it lasting only three sets.

“But each team has their thing,” Sheffield said. “And if we try to play their game, we’re going to get whacked. And if they try to play ours, that’s going to be problems for them as well.”

Can Badgers keep Texas’ talented pin hitters in check?

The Wisconsin-Texas match will feature two of the best outside hitters in the country.

Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer has averaged 5.38 kills per set, which is the highest among players who advanced to the NCAA regional finals and is destined to break the UW program record. Texas’ Torrey Stafford is ninth in the country with 4.78 kills per set while hitting .368.

“Both of them are fearless,” Sheffield said. “They’re extremely, extremely talented. I think volleyball fans are going to be following them for a long, long time. Both of them have tremendous careers in front of them.”

Stafford was virtually unstoppable in the Longhorns’ sweep over Indiana, recording 19 kills without any attack errors and hitting a video-game-like .679. But for as talented as the AVCA national player of the year semifinalist is, she is not the only pin that can give opponents fits.

Texas freshman Cari Spears has immediately stepped into a major role in the Longhorns’ attack as the starting right-side hitter in every match this season. In the second match of her career, she led Texas with 11 kills while committing only one attack error in the win over the Badgers.

“She was just trying to figure out how to breathe during that first match, and it just takes time,” Elliott said. “And now she actually understands our offense a lot more, she’s developed a lot of her blocking, her range has gotten better, and that applies to all of our team. Ella’s been doing the same thing. Her offensive system is completely different than it was the first week of the season.”

The Wisconsin match was the first of seven consecutive matches for Spears with at least 10 kills.

“Seeing that I can compete with one of the top teams in the nation and seeing the trust that my teammates had with me and the trust that the coaches had in me – it was a huge confidence boost for me,” Spears said.

As for how to stop Stafford, Spears and Co., Booth said it goes back to the Badgers’ fundamentals.

“I know I’m beating a dead horse, but that’s really what this is all about,” Booth said. “At the highest level, the margins are so thin that you’re not trying to reinvent the wheel again. You’re honing in on the details of what you already know to do. So it’s not necessarily about being perfect on the block. … Our focus is just going to be taking away good space for our defense and then trusting that the people around us have put in the work to be able to defend those shots.”

How do Badgers respond to adversity?

When Wisconsin defeated Stanford after an otherworldly offensive showing in the first set, Booth said it was “really an emphasis for us to always be the one throwing punches, not the ones taking them.”

The ability to punch first is far from a guarantee against a team as talented as Texas is, however. The Longhorns have only lost once this season at Gregory Gym, and that was against Kentucky, which is one of the other top seeds in the NCAA tournament.

Even in a neutral crowd situation, Wisconsin’s ability to not let Stanford’s momentum snowball was crucial in the four-set win. Now with the vast majority of the anticipated 4,500 people in attendance rooting against the Badgers in the regional finals, Wisconsin’s resiliency when Texas does pack a punch will be crucial.

“We are definitely more equipped to withstand those highs and lows of a set and able to step up after a mistake or come back after a battle,” Booth said. “You see yesterday, (we) come out very dominant in the first set, and then we dropped the second in a fashion that was a little bit uncharacteristic to the way we want to play. And being able to just step up and come back third and fourth playing our game – I think that goes to show how much we’ve grown in that sense.”

The Badgers – already confident before the tournament and now with even more reason for confidence after the Stanford win – are not ceding the possibility of still throwing that figurative first punch either.

“We are the writers of our own destiny, and I think that we are always in a position to be able to throw the first punch, no matter who we’re seeing across the net,” Booth said.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin Lutheran boys basketball pursues three-peat with revamped lineup

Published

14 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Wisconsin Lutheran boys basketball pursues three-peat with revamped lineup

Wisconsin Lutheran returns to Division 1 seeking a third consecutive state championship.
The team returns its two leading scorers, senior Zavier Zens and junior Kager Knueppel.
New starters will need to fill the roles of three key graduates from last season’s title team.
Coach Ryan Walz expects Zens to become a more vocal leader and for Knueppel to develop as a three-level scorer.

Over the first couple weeks of the WIAA high school boys basketball season, the Journal Sentinel will be checking in with the Milwaukee area’s three reigning state championship teams.

Our visits began with reigning Division 3 champion Milwaukee Academy of Science, which will compete in D2 in the WIAA postseason this year. The next check-in comes with a team that knows all about repeating in a higher division, the two-time defending state champions from Wisconsin Lutheran. The Vikings won their fourth WIAA state title and second consecutive after receiving a competitive balance elevation from D2 to D1 last season. The quest for a third straight title will also be in D1, and the Vikings look up to the challenge.

Here is what to know about Wisconsin Lutheran, which improved to 4-0 with a 69-20 victory over New Berlin West on Dec. 12.

Roles to fill around returning stars Zens, Knueppel

Wisco’s two leading scorers from the 2024-25 team return, but the surrounding cast looks a bit different this season. Northern Iowa commit and 6-foot-7 senior forward Zavier Zens (22.2 points per game last season) and 6-10 junior guard Kager Knueppel (13.5 ppg) are the two returning starters, while the three graduated starters include guard Isaiah Mellock (11.1 ppg, Wisconsin Lutheran College), forward/guard Alex Greene (10.9 ppg, Concordia) and forward Ben Langebartels (2.3 ppg).

Coach Ryan Walz said he wants to see Zens become a more vocal leader this year, while adding Knueppel can round out his ability as a three-level scorer.

“I think that’s a big step for any senior to make, to get outside of yourself, to be able to be engaged with other people on the team and not just always be worried about what you’re doing, but also being concerned for your teammates and showing that kind of leadership,” Walz said of Zens.

“From our standpoint, we want to see [Kager] be an effective basketball player at the basket, in the midrange and from three-point range. That’s the next step for guys who are on the cusp of being really, really good players, and that’s what Zavier did last year,” Walz added on Knueppel.

In place of the graduates this season have been former reserve 6-foot junior guard Riley Walz (4.2 ppg last season), former reserve forward and 6-6 senior Kinston Knueppel (5.0 ppg) as well as junior 6-7 forward Jamail Sewell.

“Riley’s going to have to handle the ball and distribute it, get us into offense and really control what we do, and Kinston is that versatile piece – kind of like Alex Greene last year – where he has to find ways where he can influence the game offensively with his intelligence, his skill level, his flexibility of being able to go inside and outside,” coach Walz said. “Jamail is 6-7, almost 6-8, and obviously anybody who saw him in football pads saw this enormous man, and he moves really, really well and has great hands. He needs to catch up on some of his basketball things and his skill and his understanding of the game, but he is an enormous presence on the floor.”

The Vikings again do not lack for size and will send one of the tallest starting fives in the state to the floor night-in and night-out between Zens, Kinston Knueppel, Kager Knueppel and Sewell. Kager Knueppel said teams will also have to watch out for Riley Walz on the perimeter as they crowd the paint.

“He’s been working really hard. I like him coming into the point guard role because he does not turn the ball over and he can shoot threes really well,” Kager Knueppel said.

As they learned with a late substitution in the D1 title game in March, every player needs to be ready for their moment.

“You don’t know when your time is going to come but you have to be ready, and so as coaches it’s our job to absolutely keep pushing them and moving them forward as best that we can,” coach Walz said.

Wisconsin Lutheran not shying from expectations

Returning top players to a team coming off consecutive state titles creates expectations around the program to compete for a three-peat. Zens said the team is embracing those expectations, while relying on the experience that has led them this far.

“We all know there’s high expectations for us, but those are our expectations for ourselves as well,” Zens said.

The pressure to defend a title is nothing new for Kager Knueppel, and something he thinks the team will be prepared for on a nightly basis.

“All of our guys understand that we have a target on our back, and people will want to come after us and beat us,” Knueppel said.

Coach Walz said the tone of keeping expectations in their proper framework is set by Zens.

“He is intrinsically motivated,” Walz said. “If your best player has no letdown and is leading by example, then that just brings everybody else along.”

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Wisconsin

When does Wisconsin volleyball play again? NCAA tournament next match

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

When does Wisconsin volleyball play again? NCAA tournament next match

Start time yet to be announced for regional finals match

AUSTIN, Texas – Wisconsin volleyball will be spending two more days in Austin.

The Badgers ensured that with a four-set win over Stanford on Dec. 12 in the NCAA tournament regional semifinals. It was the eighth consecutive win in the regional semifinals for Kelly Sheffield’s group and its first-ever win over Stanford in program history.

Here’s what to know about Wisconsin’s next match:

Who will Wisconsin volleyball play next?

Wisconsin’s next match will be against top-seeded Texas in the NCAA tournament regional finals, with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

What time is Wisconsin volleyball’s next match?

The Wisconsin-Texas match will be on Sunday, Dec. 14. A time has not yet been announced, but it will either be at 2 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. CT.

How to watch Wisconsin-Texas NCAA tournament regional finals match?

NCAA volleyball tournament bracket for regional finals

Creighton vs. Kentucky on Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. in Lexington, Kentucky
Purdue vs. Pittsburgh on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh
Wisconsin vs. Texas on Dec. 14 in Austin
Winner of Nebraska/Kansas vs. winner of Louisville/Texas A&M on Dec. 14 in Lincoln, Nebraska

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