Achievement gap timeline

Today, Madison’s achievement gap is a frequent topic of conversation. The subject pops up in school board meetings, at candidate forums and in community conversations. But the issue was not always as well recognized as it is now.

The timeline below chronicles the development of this issue, beginning with some schools’ failure to meet national No Child Left Behind requirements and ending with the most recent school board race. Between the earliest entry in 2007 and the most recent in April 2013, appear the conversations – and controversies – surrounding the proposed Madison Preparatory Academy and former district Superintendent Dan Nerad’s achievement gap plan. Click through the headlines for a broad overview or read the full articles by following the links at the bottom of the text.

The articles are drawn primarily from coverage of the achievement gap in Madison’s news media. Sources include Madison Commons, The Cap Times, the Wisconsin State Journal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.