In state education news, Republican
lawmakers want to change the way
the Department of Public Instruction
now scores standardized tests
for third through eighth graders.
That's because last year DPI
changed the cutoff scores needed
to be proficient in reading or math,
resulting in scores in 2024
being about ten points higher than
the year before.
The new forward exam scoring also
no longer aligns with the more
difficult national test known
as the nation's report card.
A bill now before the legislature
would require DPI to
revert back to the previous scoring
model. Chair of the Senate
Education Committee, Republican
Senator John Trigger, authored the
bill. And thanks very much for being
here.
Thank you for having me.
So why don't you like the new
scoring methods on the statewide
forward exam?
For multiple reasons.
I think it gives a false sense
of what our kids are doing.
And where they're at.
But, you know.
The bigger picture point here
is.
It doesn't align.
We have no way of tracking data.
From previous years.
Because and the DPI admits
this, that the way that they have
blown up the scoring
system, we can't go back and look
we can't see how the kids from the
Covid pandemic.
Those those kids that were.
You know, kindergarten, first grade.
Are they catching up, the kids.
More importantly, that are almost
entering the workplace?
The seventh graders who are now.
High school juniors and seniors,
where are they?
Have they caught up from that that
last year?
And we can't track that data
anymore.
And, you know.
As I traveled around the new
district, the new 13th Senate
district.
Picked up a ton of.
Geographical territory.
And I.
Mean, a lot of.
New superintendents.
A lot of new school districts.
And the first thing I did.
Was meet with.
Law enforcement.
And meet with my school.
Superintendents.
And they were taken aback
because they were not consulted.
They had no idea this came.
And here we are.
They don't know if some of the
innovation.
They're doing with literacy programs
are working and they.
Have no way of going back and
tracking.
And then the easiest point is
we should be expecting our kids to
do better. We should set high
standards, not lower them.
So Governor Tony Evers has also
been critical of the new scoring,
saying just that, that we should
have the highest standards possible.
But why should legislators decide
on learning assessments over
educators?
And should new directives
come with more funding, like the
$50 million for phonics
instruction?
I don't think you can conflate
the two issues of saying it should
come with more funding.
I mean, why should we get
involved? Well, honestly, I wish we
wouldn't have to.
This was done in a closed
situation where these.
There was a list of just under a.
100.
Administrators or school officials
or people that.
They talked to for.
This.
Process. But they they
did this in a vacuum and it came out
and it came out. You know, let's be
honest, politics is.
Part of.
Everything came out in a very
weird time to roll
back these standards, to make our.
Kids look better, which in effect.
It did in in.
An election year for the
superintendent.
That's a little odd.
But what perked my ear was
my superintendent saying, we don't
agree with this. We had we
weren't part of this. We don't know
where this came from.
And then when you had.
The governor first.
Saying flat out, you know.
Because those were his standards.
And he said she she didn't they
rolled back the Department of
Public.
Instruction, rolled back the
governor's.
Standards, the education governor.
So he caught my interest when he
said we.
Shouldn't be lowering, we.
Should be expecting high standards.
And then he kind of pivoted
a little bit to criticizing the
process that it was done behind
closed doors without any input from
stakeholders.
And he was right on both counts.
Apart from the scoring, why does
the bill also call to revert back
to how the scores are described?
For example, instead of below basic
as previously to developing.
Just to go back for consistency.
And one of the things that I had
heard in an interview was, well,
you know, if you tell a parent
that their kid is below basic,
that's that's harmful.
That's that's hurtful.
Language.
That's I'm sorry.
That's just weak source To me,
That's, that's that's soft.
As I said in the in the committee
hearing, you know what?
You know.
What hurts a kid's.
Social mental health.
And hurts a kid.
In the classes when he can't read.
And we should be focusing on that
rather than what these labels say.
And like I said, it goes back that
the reason why we went back is we
it's almost.
Like just a reset point.
And unfortunately, we're going to
lose this year's data.
But I think.
It's worth it to go.
Back and create some consistency
and also create it so we can compare
ourselves with Nape, the
national standards and see how we're
doing. How do we possibly know
when you're talking about investing
billions of dollars in education,
what is.
The return going our kids.
Doing? How are these educators using
those dollars that we
commit to make sure our kids can
read? And the.
The troubling part about it is this
whole issue about rolling back the
standards came when the Nabe scores
came out this week, and it
should be a shock for everybody.
The numbers in Milwaukee are, you
know, we're talking the worst.
Scoring for fourth graders
in.
The nation. For black kids in
Milwaukee, the achievement gap is.
Still the lowest in the.
Country. But the eighth grade,
eighth grade kids are also just just
floundering.
And it shouldn't be acceptable to
anybody. And you cannot you know,
the old line I was I was joking at
Super Bowl week, you cannot can
achieve perfection if you.
Don't strive for.
Excellence. You know.
If you strive for and strive for
perfection, you reach excellence.
That's what Vince Lombardi always
said. And I think it's
right on this call.
We should be expecting more.
On that racial achievement gap.
51% of Wisconsin white students
overall tested proficient in math,
5% of black
students. What responsibility, then,
does the state have to
narrow that gap?
Well, we need to look at
all at all sources.
You know where this is coming from,
where the breakdown is.
And it is poverty.
A lot of these numbers.
Are driven.
Down, quite honestly, by what's
what's happening with maps
and the maps scores out of
Milwaukee.
And you talk about a
school district in total disarray,
in accounting.
Disarray.
A health situation.
System disarray with it.
With the lead poisoning.
News from this week, disarray
from bringing in staff.
The controller.
Is gone.
After three weeks disarray.
In in just about every aspect
that you can you can come from or
you can talk about it and it
it doesn't surprise it shouldn't
surprise anybody that.
It's a disarray and failure of our.
Kids.
We need to leave it there.
Senator John Straggler, thanks very
much.
Appreciate it.
Thanks. Yeah, this is
very interesting.
Yeah.
Thanks.
We'll be following, of course.
Okay. Yep.
Appreciate. Any time.
Any time. Like I said, next time
I'll be. I'll be prompt.
I apologize.
I know how it is to be on the
bottom of the.
Phone or over the microphone.
I'm sorry. No worries.
We're not live.
We're good. Thank you.
Have a good weekend.
You too.