Wisconsin is grappling with severe teacher shortages in K–12 education, affecting both rural and urban schools. School administrators report that too few new teachers are entering the profession and many existing teachers are quitting, leading to hundreds of vacancies statewide. Both ends of the state are impacted: rural districts in sparsely populated areas struggle to attract applicants (some rural schools have had to contract with online/virtual teachers out-of-state just to cover classes), and urban districts like Milwaukee and Madison also cannot find enough educators, especially in certain subjects. STEM fields (science, math, technology) and special education are experiencing the most acute shortages. According to state data, special education is the top shortage area – Wisconsin has more open special ed teaching positions than any other category. Math and science teachers are also in desperately short supply. For instance, in the 2024–25 school year, Wisconsin designated dozens of districts as having critical shortages in math, science, and special ed instructors. The situation has been described as reaching “crisis level”. Schools report very few applicants for open jobs; some suburban and choice (voucher) schools have even had to close classrooms or turn students away due to lack of teaching staff. The shortage is fueled by teacher retirements, burnout (especially after the pandemic), relatively low salaries, and fewer college students pursuing education degrees. Notably, about 35–40% of new Wisconsin teachers leave the profession within 5 years, exacerbating retention problems. This ongoing teacher shortage threatens student outcomes – larger class sizes, canceled courses (particularly advanced STEM classes), and overstretched remaining teachers can all undermine educational quality. Addressing the shortage will likely require higher pay, “grow-your-own” programs (like teacher apprenticeship and residency pipelines), and other recruitment/retention strategies to ensure every Wisconsin classroom has a qualified teacher.

Wisconsin’s K–12 school funding system has led to significant disparities in per-student resources, leaving many rural and high-poverty districts under-funded. Due to a combination of state aid formulas and local property tax revenue limits frozen since the 1990s, some districts can spend more than twice as much per pupil as others. In fact, public school spending ranges from as low as about $9,400 per student in some districts to over $21,000 per student in others. These huge gaps often track with community wealth: districts with a strong property tax base or that passed local referendums can raise more funds for schools, whereas poorer rural or inner-city districts are stuck near the minimum funding level. Notably, the revenue cap system in place since 1993 locked in historical disparities – districts that were low-spending 30 years ago have generally remained so, as they can only increase budgets modestly and have to go to referendum to exceed caps. Rural districts and high-poverty urban districts tend to be at the lower end of funding. A national study found Wisconsin is among just 12 states where the state provides less funding per student to rural schools than to urban schools – even though rural schools often have higher costs per student (due to small size and transportation needs) and a weaker local tax base. Many rural districts are in a budget squeeze: they’re still struggling to restore funding to pre-Great Recession levels and are often up against state-imposed revenue caps. As a result, rural and poor districts may have outdated materials, fewer course offerings or extracurriculars, and lower teacher salaries compared to wealthier districts. These inequities in resources can translate to differences in educational opportunities for students. Efforts to reform the school funding formula (such as proposals for “weighted student funding” that gives extra dollars for low-income or rural students) have been debated, but major changes have yet to occur. The funding gaps remain a contentious issue, with leaders noting it’s hard for all students to meet high standards when school resources are so uneven.

Wisconsin students have been underperforming in STEM-related academics in recent years, consistently falling short of desired proficiency benchmarks and, in some cases, trailing national averages. On state exams, fewer than half of students are demonstrating grade-level proficiency in math and science. In 2023–24, about 49.4% of Wisconsin public school students met the math standards for their grade (and only ~48% in English Language Arts) – meaning over half of students are below grade-level expectations. This was after the state lowered the proficiency cut-scores; under the old standard, less than 40% were considered proficient in math. The lackluster performance is especially apparent in STEM subjects: for example, the National Assessment (NAEP) results show Wisconsin’s average math scores have stagnated. In 8th-grade math, Wisconsin’s average score in 2022 was 274, which was only barely above the national average (273) – essentially middling, whereas a decade ago Wisconsin ranked higher. In science, Wisconsin has also seen scores slip relative to other states. Education officials are concerned that our students are not keeping up in STEM preparation. The pandemic certainly set back achievement – as of 2024, the average Wisconsin student was still several months behind in math learning compared to 2019. Wisconsin’s recovery in math scores ranked only 16th among states, and reading 30th, indicating a much slower post-COVID rebound than many other states. Furthermore, persistent achievement gaps drag down overall averages: Wisconsin has one of the widest racial gaps in the nation on math exams (e.g. only 14% of Black 3rd–8th graders in Wisconsin were at grade-level in math, versus 64% of white students, under the new scoring). Low-income and rural students also score below state averages in STEM. All of this means Wisconsin’s STEM performance “consistently falls below average” if one considers the high standards we strive for. Improving math and science outcomes – through better STEM curricula, tutoring, teacher support, and addressing inequalities – is critical for the state’s long-term economic competitiveness.

Several of the University of Wisconsin System’s two-year branch campuses in rural areas have closed or are on the verge of closing, reducing local college access and worrying community leaders. These small campuses – which offer freshman/sophomore coursework and associate degrees – have seen steep enrollment declines over the past decade. In 2023–2024, the UW announced the closure of branch campuses in Marinette, Fond du Lac, and Washington County (West Bend), among others. UW-Platteville’s Richland Center campus had already shut down earlier, and UW-Milwaukee’s Waukesha campus is slated to cease instruction as well. The primary reasons are dwindling student numbers (some campuses lost over 50% of enrollment since consolidation in 2018) combined with budget pressures. However, the impact on their regions is significant. These branch campuses provided a local, affordable stepping-stone into higher education for many rural students, including working adults and first-generation college-goers. A professor at UW–Oshkosh’s Fond du Lac campus noted that many students there come from small towns and rely on the local campus to begin college; without it, higher education may be out of reach. Research backs this up: over 60% of U.S. college students attend school within 25 miles of home, and rural students in particular are less likely to travel far for college. Thus, when a local campus closes, that area can become an “education desert” – defined as a community with no accessible public college nearby. This not only limits educational attainment, but can weaken the local economy and workforce over time (college campuses often contribute to local employment and keep young adults in the area). The closures have prompted efforts like the new College for Rural Wisconsin program, which does outreach to rural high schoolers about other options. Still, community members and experts worry that losing UW branch campuses will erode regional resilience, as fewer residents manage to get degrees or advanced skills, and more young people leave for urban campuses and might not return. Keeping higher education accessible in all parts of the state is a critical challenge.