Two weeks ago, it was revealed that the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) held a four-day junket at a waterpark, on the taxpayers’ dime, to “redefine student proficiency.”
Then the DPI issued a gag order on participants.
The Dairyland Sentinel did some digging and found “documents concerning the ‘standard setting’ process used to redefine what it means for a Wisconsin student to be ‘proficient’ in reading and math.” Under those new standards, proficiency rates jumped 12 percent, which means a majority of students now “meet expectations.” Did the DPI lower proficiency standards to inflate those numbers? The public deserves to know that.
But despite Superintendent Jill Underly vowing transparency last year, that transparency hasn’t come.
“The department updated achievement benchmarks for the Forward exam this summer in a transparent process, and reflecting the recommendations of nearly 100 experts from across the state, I accepted the recommendations of these professionals after they carefully determined how to measure student performance according to Wisconsin’s rigorous state standards,” Underly told WPR on January 21, 2025.
The Dairyland Sentinel asked the DPI for information on who these experts were, howe they were chosen, and what it all cost.
Hellbound and Down 