This post originally appeared at https://www.bootsandsabers.com/2025/01/22/wisconsin-gop-proposes-to-reverse-dumbing-down-of-school-benchmarks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wisconsin-gop-proposes-to-reverse-dumbing-down-of-school-benchmarks

Yes, they should absolutely do this.

Republican lawmakers plan to introduce a bill aligning state education test scores with national standards after Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly made controversial changes last year.

Each year, Wisconsin elementary school students take the Forward exam and high school students take the ACT. For many years, the categories were labeled “advanced,” “proficient,” “basic” and “below basic.”

The DPI recently changed the standards for the Forward Exam by renaming the levels of student achievement and lowering the scores to reach each category, increasing the number of students who score in higher categories. The new labels are “advanced,” “meeting,” “approaching,” and “developing.”

The category changes have been met with criticism from Republicans and even Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. It also means the test is no longer aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress.