Dean Gorrell:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly recently took to defending her decision to lower the cut scores for the Wisconsin Forward Exam.
Lowering the cut scores will make it appear that a greater percentage of students are performing at higher levels. Underly offered this reason for the change: “They (the students) were appearing to be doing worse than they really were. And so, this will give us a better measure of where kids are.”
One can only imagine the psychometric gymnastics the data analysts at DPI went through to advise her on that soundbite. We’re used to gaslighting, spin, hyperbole and falsehoods from politicians, but with that statement, Superintendent Underly may have just set the new benchmark for nonsensical claims made by a politician.
Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that the new cut scores are installed after the old cut scores were in place long enough, since 2012, to potentially yield valuable data and draw causal relationships between instruction, resource allocation and outcomes. So much for using assessments to help inform instruction, guide curricular programming and budgeting.
Lowering achievement standards does not serve the children, teachers or school districts of Wisconsin well in the short or long term.
Dean Gorrell, Verona
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Madison’s well funded k-12 system and city government are seeking substantial 607M+ tax and spending increases via referendum this fall.
Madison taxpayers of long supported far above average K – 12 spending.
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