{"id":13167,"date":"2024-10-07T12:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=13167"},"modified":"2024-10-07T12:58:26","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T12:58:26","slug":"irgs-cio-exposes-dpi-records-on-new-biased-test-score-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=13167","title":{"rendered":"IRG\u2019s CIO Exposes DPI Records on New, Biased Test Score Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/irgs-cio-exposes-dpi-records-on-new-biased-test-score-standards\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/span><\/p>\n

October 7, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

IRG\u2019s CIO Exposes DPI Records on New, Biased Test Score Standards\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

New State Test Standards and Report Cards Biased Toward High-Income Schools,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Superintendent Underly Calls Literacy Work \u201cNonsense,\u201d <\/span><\/i>Public Records Reveal<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

DELAFIELD, WI:<\/b> Wisconsin\u2019s 2024 test scores, out tomorrow, are inflated, biased, and unreliable.<\/span><\/p>\n

How they got that way is the subject of \u201cTesting Our Patience: How Wisconsin Lowered Standards, Widened the Achievement Gap, and Busted Its State Exams<\/a>,\u201d the latest Institute for Reforming Government Center for Investigative Oversight (IRG CIO) report. The report and supporting materials are located at reforminggovernment.org\/test-score-changes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Happened:<\/b> Public records obtained by IRG CIO reveal DPI management knew its inflation of Wisconsin\u2019s proficiency rates would come at a cost: wider achievement gaps for Black, special needs, and impoverished students, a bias toward schools serving high-income students, and a future where 93% of districts score 4 or 5 stars on state report cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Records also revealed that State Superintendent Underly criticized \u201cnonsense going on with literacy\u201d in June 2023, a week after critical Act 20 reading reforms were introduced.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI truly don\u2019t understand what I am looking at for my approval. <\/span><\/i>And with all this other nonsense going on with literacy I want to make sure we\u2019re not throwing more fuel onto this fire.\u201d \u2013 Superintendent Jill Underly, June 13, 2023<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Why It Matters:<\/b> New, lower standards for test scores make it impossible to compare students to before the pandemic or understand if they are really learning. New, unfair standards more harshly judge disadvantaged students, schools, and districts. DPI recently announced important \u201creport cards\u201d that rate schools will change drastically 3 times in 5 years: 2021, 2024, and 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Quote:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cPutting students first means improving their schools, not juicing the numbers for the suburbs. Instead, Superintendent Underly has inflated test scores, made disadvantaged students look bad, and dismissed literacy work as \u2018nonsense.\u2019\u201d <\/span>\u2013 Jake Curtis, IRG General Counsel and CIO Director<\/b><\/p>\n

Calls to Action:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. DPI must reverse all changes to scores for the good of students.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Lawmakers have an opportunity to hold DPI accountable through oversight hearings, especially as DPI changes state report cards in 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Parents should encourage their school boards to rely on student screener tests to measure progress, not state test scores.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Key Report Findings:<\/b><\/p>\n