The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
By WisPolitics
The state Supreme Court race, to decide ideological control of the high court, is the April election most people are paying attention to.
But the other big race — the contest for state schools superintendent — is also attracting attention.
The race is between the two candidates who emerged from the Feb. 18 primary: incumbent Jill Underly, endorsed by the state Democratic Party and recently the state teachers’ union WEAC vs. Wauwatosa education consultant Brittany Kinser, who is backed by a lot of of Republican-leaning money from private school voucher supporters.
One of the big issues separating the two candidates: student testing standards from Underly’s Department of Public Instruction.
The GOP-run Legislature is pushing a package of bills on the issue.
The Assembly on Feb. 19 approved 54-44 along party lines a bill to overhaul DPI standards put in place by Underly. Republicans argue the new standards mask poor student performance.
Meanwhile, Democrats knocked the bill as politically motivated and said it wouldn’t help improve student achievement in the state.
AB 1 would reverse changes to state testing standards made by Underly. Opponents have argued Underly lowered the standards, making it harder to gauge how students are doing. But she says the changes actually provide a better picture of student achievement and were made through a transparent process with input from educators.
Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart, said Underly’s primary victory “wasn’t a huge surprise,” charging her with “making false claims on the backs of students.”
“Changing standards to mask the problem is unacceptable,” Goeben said.
Freshman Rep. Angelina Cruz, D-Racine, a public school teacher, said: “Let’s not be fooled — this not about improving education, this bill is about playing political games, playing political games with our children’s futures.”
She said if lawmakers were focused on improving outcomes for kids, they should be addressing the root causes of what is holding them back, “not wasting time on symbolic moves that don’t change anything in the classroom.” She cited a need for additional funding as an example.
The changes the Department of Public Instruction implemented included lowering the test score threshold for what is considered proficient and changing the terms used to describe student performance. The terms were changed from below basic, basic, proficient and advanced, to developing, approaching, meeting and advanced.
AB 1 would reset state report card standards to levels set in 2019-20, align grades 3-8 with national standards from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and restore high school testing standards to levels set in the 2021-22 school year. It also would require DPI to bring back the previous terms for pupil performance assessments.
The chamber also signed off 53-44 on AB 6, which would require school boards to spend at least 70% of their operating expenditures on “direct classroom expenditures.”
That includes salaries for teachers, teacher aids, instructional supplies, tuition, athletic programs and cocurricular activities.
The bill also would regulate administrator salaries by capping those raises by the same percentage increase the school board provides teachers in the district.
Rep. Benjamin Franklin, R-De Pere, the bill’s author, cited the decline in student test scores as a reason for introducing the bill. He said there is a “system that fails to put money in the classroom where the education is happening.”
If a school district spends less than 70% on classroom expenditures, the bill says the district should increase by 2% each year until 70% is reached.
The bill also would reduce state aid for schools that fall short of the requirement.
The Assembly via voice vote added an amendment to clarify what wouldn’t fall under “direct classroom expenditures,” including: administration, food service, transportation, instructional support such as media centers, teacher training and student support such as nurses and school counselors.
Dems took issue with the limits the bill would place on local control, and expressed concerns that the state is already not funding schools enough.
Rep. Joan Fitzgerald, D-Fort Atkinson, a former public school teacher, said she has spoken with constituents and found that school boards do not currently have a grasp on their “direct classroom expenditures.” She argued that bill authors had not actually spoken with teachers and administrators about what they want in their school.
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