A Think Twice Review of:

Review of Beyond Race: What Really Drives Wisconsin's Achievement Gap

Think Twice - May 12, 2026

Publisher/Think Tank - Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

Author(s) - Will Flanders

A recent report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) highlights stark achievement gaps between White and Black students in Wisconsin, particularly in elementary-level English language arts and reading. While the report deserves credit for bringing attention to this important issue, its analysis is incomplete and misleading.

Reviewer(s) - Jaekyung Lee, University at Buffalo

In his review of Beyond Race: What Really Drives Wisconsin's Achievement Gap, University at Buffalo distinguished professor Jaekyung Lee finds that the report offers an overly simplistic account of the causes of these disparities, attributing them to factors framed as separate from race. Professor Lee is the author of the book, The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps: Why and How American Education is Losing (But Can Still Win) the War on Underachievement.