(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KENOSHA, Wis. — Kenosha Unified School District reported mixed results on its spring 2026 assessments Wednesday, with improvements in elementary and middle school English Language Arts and some high school math scores, alongside declines in other areas. Fewer than half of tested students met the reported proficiency levels or benchmarks in every category highlighted by the district.
The largest improvement was on the Wisconsin Forward English Language Arts assessment for students in grades three through eight. The percentage meeting or exceeding proficiency rose from 43.4% to 45.6%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points. That leaves 54.4% below proficiency.
Math results for those same grades changed little, increasing from 42.5% proficient to 42.6%, a gain of 0.1 percentage point.
“We are encouraged by the growth we are seeing, particularly in early level reading,” Superintendent Dr. Jeff Weiss said in the district’s announcement. “We attribute this growth to the work our staff and students have implemented around Act 20 and strengthening reading instruction at early grades. At the same time, we recognize there is still significant work to do in moving student achievement forward.”
High School Results Mixed
Among ninth- and 10th-grade students taking the PreACT Secure assessment, math performance increased from 36.7% to 37.6%, a gain of 0.9 percentage point. English Language Arts performance declined by the same amount, falling from 36% to 35.1%.
For 11th-grade students taking the ACT, the percentage meeting or exceeding the English Language Arts benchmark increased from 36.6% to 37.2%, a gain of 0.6 percentage point.
ACT math results declined from 28% meeting or exceeding the benchmark to 26.5%, a drop of 1.5 percentage points. That means nearly three out of four tested juniors did not meet the math benchmark.
The district’s announcement did not provide statewide comparisons or individual school results.
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
District Says Improvement Remains A Priority
KUSD, which serves more than 17,500 students, said assessment results are one measure of learning and are considered alongside classroom performance and other data to identify strengths and areas needing improvement.
District officials said they will continue strengthening literacy and mathematics instruction and helping educators use assessment data to guide their teaching.
“Growth in one area does not mean our work is finished,” Weiss said. “Our goal is continuous improvement. We will celebrate the progress while staying focused on areas of improvement.”
