MILWAUKEE – The nation just dropped its newest report card for schools. It’s getting everything from compliments to concern when it comes to kids’ skill levels.

National Report Card

What we know:

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called The Nation’s Report Card, came out Wednesday, Jan. 29. It’s given every two years, measuring the academic performance of students throughout the country.

The results show Wisconsin fourth and eighth grade students are above the national average in reading, math, writing and science.

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But those scores are still below proficient as a whole.

The results show as a whole, Wisconsin students are nowhere near advanced in those four subjects and some are just barely inching above basic level.

Expert weighs in

What they’re saying:

Quinton Klabon is Senior Research Director at the Institute for Reforming Government.

“Things are not getting better, in some facets they’re actually getting worse,” he said. “Scores across Wisconsin are the lowest they’ve been in the last two decades.”

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However, he pointed to some discrepancies with the Nation’s Report Card and Wisconsin Forward Exam.

“The NAEP test says that only 31% of 4th graders in Wisconsin are proficient in reading, the Forward Exam said 52%.”

State response

Big picture view:

State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly addressed the report on Wednesday.

“While the NAEP results highlight some successes, today’s release serves as an urgent wake-up call for our state – one that demands we act with greater urgency to support our children, educators, and schools,” Dr. Underly said. “We have the power to achieve lasting change, but it starts with a fundamental commitment to properly investing in our public schools, rather than continuing the cycle of underfunding them, as our legislature has chosen to do for far too long.”

What’s next:

Underly also called for additional investment in K-12 public schools after looking at the new data. She said that would help bring change.

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago public school officials falsely claimed last week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived at an elementary school, as President Donald Trump’s administration continues enforcement operations targeting violent illegal immigrant offenders in the sanctuary city. 

ICE said its agents never arrived at Hamline Elementary School, located in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, and the U.S. Secret Service released a statement saying it was their agents who stopped by on Friday to investigate a threat made against an unspecified government official. Chicago Public Schools later admitted their mistake, citing a “misunderstanding,” but affirmed that the school system will not coordinate with federal immigration authorities.

In front of local news cameras on Friday, Chicago Public Schools Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova told reporters that earlier that morning ICE agents “showed up” at Hamline, but “school staff followed CPS established protocols.” 

“They kept ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS’s Law Department and CPS’s Office of Safety and Security for further guidance,” Chkoumbova said. “The ICE agents were not allowed into the school and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members. Here is the bottom line: Our students and staff are safe…. We will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.” 

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“We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education,” Hamline Principal Natasha Ortega said at the same press conference, according to video published by WMAQ-TV. “We stand in solidarity with our families and the Back of the Yards community.” 

The governor chimed in on X. 

“After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school,” Pritzker wrote Friday, sharing a ChalkBeat.org report. “Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American.” 

The post was slapped with a Community Note, reading: “This was not ICE but the U.S. Secret Service visiting the school due to an unspecified threat.” 

There has not been an update posted on the governor’s X account, and Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s team for comment on Monday, but they did not immediately respond. 

ICE agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement of his own on X, correcting the record and chastising officials who amplified unverified claims.

“Chicago will always be a welcoming city, and we will always uphold the welcoming city ordinance, and we will always protect our students and every resident of our city,” Johnson, a Democrat, wrote. “Today Secret Service agents, not ICE, were present at John H. Hamline Elementary School. While people across the city are worried about heightened immigration enforcement, it is imperative that individuals not spread unverified information that sparks fear across the city.” 

Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez initially repeated the dubious allegations on Friday. During an appearance on MSNBC, he said “individuals” came to Hamline “and presented credentials and shared that they were from ICE.” 

“Our staff followed the protocols. We’re very clear,” Martinez said. “We’ve been training our principals, our security guards, any front office staff… making sure that they know that we are not to share any information with anybody from the immigration department or ICE. Unless they have a judicial order, they’re not even allowed to enter the building.” 

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ICE said it was not involved in the encounter. In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, revealed that special agents from the Chicago field office on Friday had been “investigating a threat made against a government official we protect.”  

“In the course of their investigation, agents first visited a residence in a local neighborhood and then made a visit to Hamline Elementary School,” Guglielmi said. “Agents identified themselves to the school principal and provided business cards with their contact information. The agents left without incident. The Secret Service investigates all threats made against those we protect. We do not investigate nor enforce immigration laws.”   

ICE agent waits in a vehicle during an operation in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Chicago Public Schools officials walked back their earlier claims on Saturday. 

In a message addressed to families, Martinez and Chkoumbova said, “Agents presented school staff with credentials from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal department that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).” 

“We later learned that these officials were not from ICE, but rather from the U.S. Secret Service – a different federal law enforcement agency also overseen by the Department of Homeland Security,” the statement said. “While this incident was due to a misunderstanding, it reflects the fear and anxiety that is present in our city right now, and it reflects the degree of caution that we are taking given recent federal policy changes.” 

The school officials also decried DHS’s decision last week to rescind a directive that had prevented ICE from carrying out immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as churches, schools and doctor’s offices. 

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who has been overseeing ICE raids in Chicago and across the country as part of the president’s mass deportation strategy, defended the reversal during an appearance on ABC News on Sunday. Homan said many MS-13 gang members are often around age 14 and well-trained ICE agents should have the discretion to weed out public safety and national security threats.

“Earlier this week, the new presidential administration rescinded a longtime policy that protected sensitive locations like schools from being targeted by ICE for immigration enforcement. As a result, our school administrators have been on high alert to protect their school communities,” Martinez and Chkoumbova said Saturday. “Despite yesterday’s misunderstanding, the school’s response demonstrates that our school system, in partnership with community organizations and our labor partners, is prepared and ready to keep our students and staff safe.” 

A 19-year-old Detroit man accused of dragging a police officer while fleeing on the city’s west side last month has been ordered to stand trial, officials said Tuesday.

The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said a 36th District Court judge bound over Raymonte Darrell Adams for trial in the county circuit court on Jan. 15. His trial is scheduled to begin on March 17, according to its records.

Adams’ attorney was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

Authorities allege Adams was behind the wheel of a car used in a Dec. 10 assault of a Detroit police officer on the city’s northwest side.

Police said the incident happened at about 11:40 p.m. in the 19300 block of Saint Mary’s Street near Seven Mile and Greenfield roads.

They said officers conducted a traffic stop on Adams’ vehicle and during their meeting, he allegedly drove toward them in an attempt to flee. Officers fired their weapons at the vehicle, striking Adams multiple times. However, the vehicle continued to travel, allegedly striking a police officer and dragging him, according to authorities.

A short time later, investigators found Adams with gunshot wounds lying in the roadway in the 19400 block of Rutherford Street, about two-tenths of a mile from the traffic stop. Medics took him to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Four days later, the prosecutor’s office charged Adams for his role in the incident with assault with intent to murder, third-degree fleeing and eluding as well as resisting and obstructing a police officer.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison for the assault with intent to murder charge, up to five years for third-degree fleeing and eluding and up to four years for the resisting a police officer charge.

Two weeks ago, another Detroit police officer was injured after being dragged by a car fleeing a traffic stop on the city’s east side.

Last May, a Sterling Heights man was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly dragging a deputy U.S. Marshal who was trying to arrest him.

In March, a man was arrested after dragging Marshals with a car and crashing into a Warren hotel.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

@CharlesERamirez