From Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction:
Only 54% of potential elementary school teachers pass the final reading test and become a teacher, an all-time low. Only 34% of non-White graduates do.
Only 77% of college students who start a teaching program in Wisconsin become teachers, 4th out of 6 in the Midwest.
Surprisingly, roughly the same number of Wisconsinites are in teacher programs as 2010, 1st out of 6 in the Midwest. Read more here.
Additional context from IRG Senior Research Director Quinton Klabon:
→ Our teacher shortage is driven largely by teachers being prepared poorly by our universities, not fewer wanting to enter the progression. This is likely a surprise to all sides of the debate.
→ Of our 5 biggest programs, UW-La Crosse has a 60% reading test passage rate, UW-Whitewater has 38%, UW-Eau Claire has 70%, UW-Oshkosh has 41%, and UW-Milwaukee has 47%.
→ We must treat teachers as a critical, respected profession! This is the opposite.