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Does Mississippi rank higher than Wisconsin in fourth grade reading scores?

✇Wisconsin Watch
By: Tom Kertscher ／ Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: < 1 minute

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Yes.

In the latest assessment, Mississippi’s fourth grade public school students scored higher than Wisconsin’s in reading proficiency, though the ratings “were not significantly different.”

The National Assessment of Educational Progress ratings, issued every two years, are administered by the U.S. Education Department.

In 2022, 33% of Wisconsin fourth graders rated “at or above proficient” in reading, vs. 31% in Mississippi.

In 2024, Wisconsin dropped to 31%; Mississippi rose to 32%.

NAEP said the states’ scores were “not significantly different.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents most of northern Wisconsin, claimed May 17 at the Wisconsin Republican Party convention Wisconsin had “fallen behind” Mississippi in reading. His office cited 2024 fourth grade scores.

Mississippi’s fourth grade scores surged in the past decade.

Among eighth graders, Wisconsin outperformed Mississippi in 2024 (31%-23%) and 2022 (32%-22%).

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is weighing a dispute between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature over releasing $50 million in literacy funding.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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Does Mississippi rank higher than Wisconsin in fourth grade reading scores? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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