Abbey Machtig:

In 2022, about 33% of Wisconsin fourth-grade students were considered proficient in reading, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. About 43% of fourth-graders were proficient in math.

Underly has faced sharp criticism for revising language arts and math standards in a way that critics say lowers the bar for student performance because students now can score lower on the Forward Exam, administered in grades 3-8 every spring, and still be considered proficient or advanced.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who previously served as state superintendent, told reporters this month the changes “could have been handled better.” State Sen. John Jagler, R-Watertown, and Rep. Bob Wittke, R-Caledonia, have introduced legislation that would effectively eliminate Underly’s changes.

Under the bill, DPI would have to align scoring methods for the language arts and math sections of the Forward Exam to the systems used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The bill also would require scoring sections of the ACT and PreACT using the scoring ranges from the 2021-22 school year.