It’s no secret that our public schools are underperforming. For years, more and more funding has poured into education with relatively few improvements to validate the mass spending. After years of failure, drastic measures were in order, but not the drastic measures that Wisconsin’s DPI Superintendent, Jill Underly, chose to take. Rather than reforming policy or implementing new methods, Underly and the DPI (behind closed doors) chose to lower educational standards and expectations.
The changes began in 2021 when the DPI lowered the scale on the annual DPI report cards used to measure schools and districts. On the report cards, schools and districts fall into one of five categories: A – “significantly exceeds expectations,” B – “exceeds expectations,” C – “meets expectations,” D – “meets few expectations,” or F – “fails.” After the DPI finished tinkering with the scale, four of these categories dropped by 3 to 5 points.
In other words, with no actual change in performance, schools and districts that once received a failing grade could now pass. For example, a school that that receives a score of 58 would formerly have fallen into the “meets few expectations” category but now falls into the “meets expectations” category.
Despite test scores significantly declining from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2020-2021 school year, the altered report cards allowed the same number of schools to receive passing scores. Currently, zero public schools fall into the “fails to meet expectations” category. In addition, 12 public schools that fall under 15% in reading proficiency still managed to make it into the “meets expectations” and “exceeds expectations” categories.
The report card alterations allow underperforming schools to avoid being held accountable. Rather than encouraging and equipping public schools to meet state standards, the DPI lowered standards to pass failing schools.
Rather than encouraging and equipping public schools to meet state standards, the DPI lowered standards to pass failing schools.
Unfortunately for the DPI, tampering with the report card grading scale failed to sufficiently conceal underperformance. So, once again, they decided that adjusting performance measurements is a better solution than addressing the issues at hand.
The first part of the change announced by the DPI in August 2024 renamed the levels of achievement on Wisconsin’s Forward Exam. The Forward Exam is a statewide standardized exam used since 2016 to measure proficiency in ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Following the changes made in August 2024, the achievement levels received new names that sugarcoat their actual meaning. “Below basic” changed to “developing,” “basic” to “approaching,” and “proficient” to “meeting”—leaving only “advanced” with the same label.
The change of names muddies the waters, causing confusion for parents choosing the best school for their children and legislators concerned about student performance. “Developing” certainly sounds less problematic than “below basic.”
Unfortunately, the misleading name swap is just the surface of the alterations to the Forward Exam. Much worse, the DPI also changed the proficiency standards that have been in place for more than a decade. Miraculously (or not), statewide proficiency suddenly shot up by more than 10% in ELA and 12% in Math after the adjustments to the exam. Clearly, these alterations lowered the standard.
Consequently, tracking progress is now impossible. Beyond the inability to track progress in comparison to past years, the changes also inhibit our ability to compare Wisconsin education with that in other states. Previously, Wisconsin’s Forward Exam aligned with the standards of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The alterations to the Forward Exam eradicate that alignment, resulting in the inability to evaluate Wisconsin scores on NAEP standards or assess Wisconsin’s public school performance in comparison with the rest of the nation.
Clearly, the changes to DPI report cards and the Forward Exam only paint a more appealing picture of the same old mess while failing to address the problem of underperformance in Wisconsin schools. In order to address where we come up short, we must be able to accurately measure proficiency in comparison with Wisconsin assessments in the past and other states in the present. The best way to restore accurate assessment of standards is to return to the old standards.
Remarkably, even Governor Tony Evers recognizes the issues these changes create. Before becoming governor, he served as Superintendent of the DPI. Under his administration, the DPI used the old Forward Exam and report card scale. Although he remained silent after the adjustments to the report cards, he has spoken against the alterations to the Forward Exam: “I think we need to have as high of standards as possible, I don’t think we should be lowering them.”
In response to these issues, state Senator John Jagler and state Representative Robert Wittke have released a bill, Assembly Bill 1 (AB 1), that will restore DPI report cards to their previous standards and realign the Forward Exam with NAEP allowing parents and communities to evaluate accountable standards.
The Assembly has already passed this bill, and it is now pending for action in the Senate.
Legislative Director for Wisconsin Family Action, Sam Krebs, notes, “It’s a rare occurrence to have the legislature and the Governor so heartily agree on a topic. It’s pretty clear to everyone except Superintendent Underly that we need objective and consistent standards. We hope the governor will commit to signing this bill into law and return transparency to our public education standards.”
This spring, DPI Superintendent Jill Underly is running for reelection, endorsed by the Democrat Party of Wisconsin. Her challenger, Brittany Kinser, previously served as the President of the Milwaukee Charter School Advocates and espouses a moderate viewpoint. Kinser has expressed disapproval of Underly’s changes to the Forward Exam. The general election for this race will be held on April 1. Check out iVoter Guide to learn more about these candidates.
Returning to high standards is the first step on the road to improving the quality of public education in our state. Wisconsin Family Action encourages Wisconsinites to elect a DPI Secretary who will uphold high standards in our state.
