MADISON—School children across the state are receiving report cards, and the state of Wisconsin is getting one, too, thanks to a "competitiveness benchmarking" project at the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to public-policy research and citizen education. The goal of the project, done on behalf of Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. (a consortium of state business, farm, and labor leaders), has been to gauge the change in the state’s competitive position over time and to compare it to surrounding states and the U.S.

In a new twist on that effort, WISTAX researchers converted statistics generated by the project to letter grades for the latest issue of its Focus newsletter. Grading was done in 33 "subjects" in six categories—economic health, business climate, environmental quality, quality of life, workforce excellence, and public sector performance.

Of the 33 measures, Wisconsin had four grades in the A range, 12 each in the B and C ranges, and five in the D range. The average grade over all measures was just below 2.5, or a B-/C+. The two areas with the strongest grades were quality of life (averaging about a B) and workforce excellence (B- average).

"A" grades included those for health insurance coverage (A-), student test scores, highway conditions (A-), and air emissions (pounds per capita). Wisconsin has one of the highest insured rates in the nation and is still improving. Wisconsin K-12 students have had for a number of years, at least statewide, some of the highest standardized test scores of any state.

Among the lowest grades were those for new business creation (D+), venture capital per worker (D), state bond ratings (D+), and water pollution (D-).

"The weak business creation and venture capital grades are of particular concern," Todd A. Berry, WISTAX president, noted, "because they impact the economic future of the state."

The analysis represented the first attempt by WISTAX to translate tables and charts contained in a more extensive report, Measuring Success: Benchmarks for a Competitive Wisconsin, into simple letter grades for the public and press. To eliminate subjectivity, arithmetic scoring rules were used.