(The Center Square) – A bill that would change the academic standards used on Wisconsin’s state report cards back to prior levels passed the Senate and now will head to Gov. Tony Evers.
The Senate voted 18-14 to approve the bill, which would reset the K-12 school report card standards of 2019-20, makes grades 3-8 standards the same as those set by the National Assessment of Education Progress and would make the high school testing standards the same as those from 2021-22.
State Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown, is a sponsor of the bill and noted the standards were changed behind closed doors and Evers has even called the decision a mistake.
“We’ve also lost, because of these changes, the ability to track from year after year and the ability to track where we are from a national standpoint,” Jagler said. “And that’s incredibly important right now when we talk about the COVID kids, the kids that lost a school year because of the pandemic, particularly impacting kids that are now in second grade and kids who are juniors.”
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is urging Evers to sign Assembly Bill 1, pointing out where the state lowered school report card cut points in 2020-21, changed the labels on those in 2023-24 and lowered the cut points again that year as well.
“Ensuring high standards for our schools should not be a partisan issue and we praised the Governor for his criticism of the Department of Public Instruction’s actions earlier this year,” WILL Policy Director Kyle Koenen said. “A veto would be a major setback for Wisconsin students, who deserve rigorous academic standards that set them up for success in the future.”
Jagler said that Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly did not appear before the committee to explain the changes and the reason the changes occurred, something he wishes had happened to allow lawmakers and the public to understand.
