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 10 points higher than the year before. The new forward exam scoring also no longer aligns
with the more difficult national tests 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 Jaggler, authored the bill and thanks very much for being
here. Oh 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 with a bigger picture point here is it doesn't align. We have no way of
tracking data from previous years because and DPI admits this that the way that they have blown
up the 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 then 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 and here we are they don't know if some of the innovation they're doing with literacy
programs are working. They have no way of going back and tracking and 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 dollars for
phonics instruction? I don't think you can conflate the two issues of saying it should come with
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 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. It came out in a very weird time to roll back
these standards to make our kids look better which in effect it did in an election year for the
superintendent. That's a little odd but what what per my year was the my superintendent saying
we don't agree with this we we weren't part of this we we don't know where this came from
and then when you have the governor first saying flat out you know because those were his standards
that he said she she 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 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 well 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 is below basic that's that's harmful that's
that's hurtful language that's I'm sorry that's just weak sauce 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 and 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 the reason why we went back is
it's almost like just a reset point and unfortunately we're going to lose this year's data
but I think it's it's worth it to go back and 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
how do we possibly know when you're talking about investing billions of dollars in education
what is the return going how are 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 NAPE scores came out this week and it should
be a shock for everybody it 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 and and shouldn't be acceptable to anybody and and you can it you know the the old line
I was I was joking it's Super Bowl week you can't can't achieve perfection if you don't strive for
excellence you know if you strive for strive for perfection you reach excellence that's what
Vince Lombardi always said and I think it's it's right on this count we should be expecting more
on that racial achievement gap of 51 percent of Wisconsin white students overall tested proficient
in math five percent of black students what responsibility then does the state have to narrow that gap
well we need to look at 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 NPS and the NPS scores on a Milwaukee and you talk about a school district
in total disarray and accounting disarray a health situation to disarray with it with the
lead poisoning news from this week uh disarray from bringing in staff the controller is gone after
three weeks uh disarray in and just about every aspect that you can you can come from or you can
talk about and it it doesn't surprise it shouldn't surprise anybody that it's a disarray and failure
over kids we need to leave it there senator john jagler thanks very much appreciate it
thanks yeah this is uh very interesting yeah
thanks we'll be following of course okay yep appreciate any time anytime like i said
next time i'll be uh i'll be prompt i apologize i know how it is to be on the
of the phone or of the microphone i'm sorry no worries we're not live we're good thank you
have a good weekend you too