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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Tony Evers stated on February 13, 2017 in a Facebook post: \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent\" since Tony Evers became state school superintendent. ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Education * Wisconsin * Tony Evers ![\\"Joyous](\\" Joyous New Berlin Eisenhower High School graduates tossed their mortar boards toward the sky at the end of graduation ceremonies Saturday, June 11, 2016 By Dave Umhoefer March 10, 2017 # Tony Evers says graduation rates surpass 90 percent. Not so fast Few states top Wisconsin’s K-12 graduation rate \-- and the rate has gone up in recent years. State School Superintendent Tony Evers boasted on his Facebook page on Feb. 13, 2017 that \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent\" since his election. Evers is seeking a third term in the April 2017 election against challenger Lowell Holtz, a former school superintendent and principal. When asked to back up the Facebook claim, the Evers campaign pointed to graduation rates published by the agency Evers oversees, the Department of Public Instruction. The reports, they say, show a rate of 85.7 percent in 2009-10 (Evers’ first year) that rose to more than 90 percent in subsequent years. Case closed? No. Let’s put our red pencil and green eye shade to work. How rates are tracked The state and federal governments employ two methods to track changes in the four-year graduation rate. The first method -- dating to the 1960s -- estimates the four-year graduation rate from aggregate figures on enrollment and graduate counts. It shows Wisconsin’s rate was above 90 percent before Evers even took office. The latest figure reported under that method: 92 percent, in 2011-12. The second method, which is newer and more accurate, tracks detailed student- level data. That method dates to 2009-10 in Wisconsin. It shows a rising rate from 85.7 percent in Evers’ first year up to 88.4 percent in 2014-15. So neither approach backs up Evers’ claim. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 For the record, the state’s rate of 88.4 percent for on-time graduation (four years) ranked 6th-highest nationally by the latest numbers, which is actually a drop from No. 2 four years earlier. Behind the claim So where do the numbers cited by the Evers campaign come from? Those numbers look at how many students from a 9th-grade class graduate over five or six years, not four years. Wisconsin began tracking so-called \"extended-year graduation\" in Evers’ first year; dozens of other states also collect it. Viewed this way, Evers campaign says, the class of 2009-10 four-year graduation rate for the class of 2009-10 was 85.7 percent. It rose to 89.5 percent after five years and to 90.4 percent after six years. A similar growth pattern appears in later years, when you track an individual class. But we can’t judge if the same thing was happening before Evers, because the collection of the extended-year graduation rate didn’t start until his second year. So we can’t fully evaluate whether these figures show that \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent\" since he took over. But, even if they did, it would apply to the less-used \"extended-year rate,\" not the more conventional 4-year rate that is better known to the average person. Our rating Evers claimed on Facebook: \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90%\" since he became state school superintendent. By the traditional measure -- graduation in four years -- Wisconsin’s rate is one of the best in America, but still below 90 percent using one approach. Using the other, it topped that mark before Evers even took office. Meanwhile, the extended-year graduation rate provides an element of truth to the claim. That puts it at Mostly False. Share the Facts Politifact ![\\"Politifact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 4 7 ![\\"Politifact](\\" facts/rating_images/politifact/tom-mostlyfalse.jpg\\") Politifact Rating: Mostly False \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent\" since Tony Evers became state school superintendent. Tony Evers Wisconsin state school superintendent ![](\\" In a Facebook post Monday, February 13, 2017 02/13/2017 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Evers campaign Facebook post, Feb. 13, 2017 Interview with Thomas McCarthy, Department of Public Instruction spokesman, Feb. 22, 2017 Interview with Amanda Brink, Evers campaign spokesperson, Feb. 22, 2017 Interview with Mark Glander, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data Surveys, Feb. 23, 2017 Interview with Joseph Murphy, National Center for Education Statistics, Feb. 23, 2017 Interview with Robert Stillwell, Administrative Data Division: Elementary and Secondary Branch, National Center for Education Statistics, Feb. 23, 2017 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, high school completion data files, accessed Feb. 23, 2017 U.S. Department of Education, Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972–2012, June 2015 National Center for Education Statistics, Public High School Graduation Rates, May 2016 National Center for Education Statistics, Dropouts, Completers and Graduation Rate Reports, Common Core of Data National Center for Education Statistics, Table 1. Public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), by race/ethnicity and selected demographics for the United States, the 50 states, and the District of Columbia: School year 2014–15 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Dave Umhoefer ![](\\" ![](\\" Glenn Grothman stated on April 30, 2017 in a town hall meeting: \"Planned Parenthood is the biggest abortion provider in the country.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Dave Umhoefer • May 15, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Wisconsin Freedom Alliance stated on April 25, 2017 in a radio ad: Wisconsin politicians get daily expense payments \"even if they don’t spend a dime on meals, or lodging or travel,\" and \"no receipts are required for them to get paid.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • May 3, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Brad Schimel stated on March 12, 2017 in an interview: In America, \"more people die from\" prescription narcotic painkillers \"than from heroin and cocaine combined.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • April 19, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tony Evers stated on March 10, 2017 in an interview: A study of where teachers apply to work found that \"less than 5 percent wanted to work in rural Wisconsin.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Dave Umhoefer • March 31, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Lowell Holtz stated on March 26, 2017 in a post on a campaign web site: About a third of Wisconsin’s high schools \"are missing the mark of graduating young adults who are college ready,\" a \"pass rate of 66.6%.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • March 30, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Lowell Holtz stated on March 18, 2017 in a campaign blog post: \"Our minority graduation rate went from levels below Milwaukee and Madison, to above 80%\" when I was Beloit school superintendent. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • March 24, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tony Evers stated on February 13, 2017 in a Facebook post: \"Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent\" since Tony Evers became state school superintendent. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • March 10, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Lowell Holtz stated on February 2, 2017 in a campaign statement: On using the Common Core standards for English and math instruction ![\\"full-flop\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"full-flop\\"](\\" flop.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • February 15, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" John Humphries stated on February 2, 2017 in a campaign statement: On using the Common Core standards for English and math instruction ![\\"full-flop\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"full-flop\\"](\\" flop.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • February 15, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Sanfelippo stated on February 1, 2017 in an online video: \"Over 39% of violent criminals return to prison following their release.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • February 10, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" John Humphries stated on January 12, 2017 in a Facebook post: \"We\'ve dropped from a top 10 state in elementary reading to 30th in the nation\" under State Schools Superintendent Tony Evers’ watch. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • February 6, 2017 ![](\\" new/e5f81dc43ebbfab7c9d9b56cfba2f398.jpg\\") ![](\\" new/9fbc38bd9f4148c4e7374ecdd8d95da4.jpg\\") Tammy Baldwin stated on January 12, 2017 in a news release: Imitation dairy products often differ nutritionally from those they mimic, and labeling them \"milk\" or \"cheese\" or \"yogurt\" is \"against the law.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • January 27, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mark Pocan stated on January 11, 2017 in a letter: Says Betsy DeVos and her family \"have donated extensively to groups which promote the idea that students who identify as LGBT must undergo \'conversion\' therapy.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • January 25, 2017 ![](\\" donkey/9fb49d2164e23dbc3d8299201ed77fd9.jpg\\") ![](\\" donkey/c2a323e8cb0d2e436abe02b98d099343.jpg\\") Democratic Party of Wisconsin stated on August 6, 2015 in a tweet: A \"majority in every state favors path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.\" ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • August 19, 2015 ![](\\" ![](\\" Andy Craig stated on May 11, 2015 in a news release: \"Thanks to restrictive and anticompetitive ballot laws,\" candidates in November 2014 ran unopposed in nearly half of Wisconsin’s state representative races but in Michigan and Minnesota nearly all races had challengers. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Dave Umhoefer • June 3, 2015 ### Tony Evers says graduation rates surpass 90 percent. 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Wisconsin’s graduation rates have grown to over 90 percent since Tony Evers became state school superintendent