KENOSHA, Wis. (Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026) – Kenosha Unified School District students showed growth in several areas of the Wisconsin Forward and PreACT Secure assessments, including increased English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency among students in grades 3-8 and continued growth in math at the high school level.
On the Wisconsin Forward ELA assessment for grades 3-8, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency increased from 43.4% to 45.6%, up 2.2 percentage points.
Kenosha Unified saw minimal growth in Wisconsin Forward math for grades 3-8, increasing from 42.5% to 42.6%, up 0.1%.
At the high school level, PreACT Secure math performance for students in grades 9-10 increased from 36.7% to 37.6%, up 0.9%, while ELA decreased from 36% to 35.1%, down 0.9%.
Among 11th grade students taking the ACT, the percentage meeting or exceeding the ELA benchmark increased slightly from 36.6% to 37.2%, up 0.6%, while math decreased slightly from 28% to 26.5%, down 1.5%.
“We are encouraged by the growth we are seeing, particularly in early level reading,” said KUSD Superintendent Dr. Jeff Weiss. “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.”
District leaders emphasize that assessment results provide one measure of student learning for more than 17,500 students and are used alongside classroom performance and other data to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement.
Kenosha Unified will continue to strengthen literacy and mathematics instruction and support educators in using assessment data to inform instruction.
“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.”
2026 Spring Assessment Results at a Glance:
- Wisconsin Forward ELA, Grades 3-8: 45.6% — up 2.2 percentage points
- Wisconsin Forward Math, Grades 3-8: 42.6% — up 0.1 percentage point
- PreACT Secure ELA, Grades 9-10: 35.1% — down 0.9 percentage point
- PreACT Secure Math, Grades 9-10: 37.6% — up 0.9 percentage point
- ACT ELA, Grade 11: 37.2% — up 0.6 percentage point
- ACT Math: 26.5% — down 1.5 percentage points