Guest post by Cornelius Gotchberg
[From your host: This is one horror tale from a state’s education system. Wisconsin is surely not alone.]
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (W.I.L.L.) reported, “In 2024 DPI (State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction) lowered the standards and cut scores for proficiency on Wisconsin DPI’s Forward Exam for the most recent academic year.“ W.I.L.L. also discovered that DPI “lowered school report card points in 2020-21 and changed the labels on the reports in 2023-24.
Hurley (WI) School District officials, among others, complained that this fist on the scale made their students’ above average achievements suddenly seemmediocre. The Iron County Miner supplied the following December 16, 2024 quote from Hurley School District Administrator Kevin Genisot, who declared (bolding mine),
“It’s important to note this: The state this year, before finalizing their final numbers of the state report card, came up with a set of numbers, They ran them and they said, “Oh, these numbers are allowing too many districts to score well. That won’t look good. Let’s adjust these numbers.’ And that’s right from DPI. telling you what they’re doing as they do the report cards.”
In short, DPI “followed the science,” and didn’t like where it took them, so they pursued policy-based evidence-making rather than evidence-based policy-making.
As Paul Harvey would say, “And now, the rest of the story.” Six months prior, in June of 2024, 88 “expert educators” gathered at the Chula Vista Resort for a four-day, taxpayer-funded shindig. Its alleged purpose: To redefine what constitutes proficiency in math and reading.
After DPI had sandbagged a January 21, 2025 “Daily Sentinel” FOIA request for a full year, the Institute For Reforming Government (IRG) sent a January 22, 2026 follow up. What did they find? Not much! No recordings of the proceedings were made nor were any meeting minutes provided. And participants had to sign non-disclosure agreements! That’s uncommon secrecy for a taxpayer-funded event with mandatory transparency.
The Daily Sentinel wrote: “The agency did not provide receipts for staff time, food, travel, or lodging […] Taxpayers are left to wonder how much of that $368,885 was spent on resort amenities, alcohol, or water park access for the 88 educators and various staff in attendance.”
Even making generous expenditure allowances for three nights single occupancy lodging @$250/night, four day per diem @$150/day, and $50,000 for meeting rooms and incidentals, that would still leave over $200,000 unaccounted for.
The WI Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has appropriately delayed $2 million in funding as they await an explanation of this spectacularly extravagant profligacy.The state’s over-burdened taxpayers deserve answers.
Ethics Alarms 
That is why I have been using old standardized exams. By using the same exams, I can track absolute performance. Most of our standardized tests are normalized for the groups of students taking it, meaning every year’s ‘average’ is different.
Great guest post!
Wisconsin education’s race to the bottom.
Thanks, Jack. There are any number of backstories on the state of public education in America’s Dairyland.
It consistently ranks at or near the bottom in Racial Achievement Gap, regularly posting breathtakingly poor reading and math proficiency scores.
“(This) persistent gap is described as a “crisis” and a “wake-up call” by state education officials.” So, how is this “crisis” and “wake-up call” addressed? By supporting the reelection of Jill Underly (whose 1st term oversaw these numbers tumble) and whom former DPI Superintendent/current Governor Tony Evers (whose own contribution to this Race To The Bottom deserves mention) refused to endorse.
Their philosophy (IMO) is simple: If You Can’t Meet Standards…Lower Them.
The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) operates with a monoculture of opinion which steadfastly ignores doing the same thing and expecting different results doesn’t cut it.
The Spring 2019 elections witnessed seven (7) ideologically certified X-Chromosomal Units elected to the MMSD, after which they crowed, with no hesitance whatsoever, that this was THE most diverse school board EVAH! This word “diverse” they keep using…I do not think it means what they think it means.
The real kicker? The supreme arrogance of MMSD specifically, and the 88 “expert educators“, et al, generally, who believe they’re untouchable and can operate extra-judicially with no concerns of reprisal; anyone thinking otherwise should expect to be summarily rebuffed and flipped off.
PWS
Summary? The people running the Wisconsin public schools increased the “proficiency” of black kids and decreased the “proficiency” of white kids in order to reduce the “Racial Achievement Gap,” a fancy word for the difference between the “proficiency” of black kids (low) and the “proficiency” of white kids (higher).
Is this a reflection upon the black kids or the teachers “teaching” the black kids? Is that where the “gap” lies, somewhere out there in Chula Vista?
“that this (newly elected MMSD board) was THE most diverse school board EVAH!”
Other than the MMSD redefining the definition of DIVERSITY, the other big story 2019 Spring elections?
12 school districts in South Central Wisconsin featured spending referenda in which school officials asked voters to approve a total of nearly $486 million.
$486 million? Mercy me; that’s pert’ ‘near half a Billion…with a “B”!
Funniest thing; none of that was earmarked for the 77 Square Miles Surrounded By A Sea Of Reality.
Near by Sun Prairie ($171 M), DeForest ($125 M) Milton ($60 M) all approved school building ballot initiatives. Other municipalities within driving distance of Madison (Albany, Baraboo, Columbus, Cross Plains, Verona, etc.) also appear to be preparing to be the recipient of a mass out-migration FROM the erstwhile Berkeley of the Midwest.
Fat $chool referenda approved by districts within driving distance of Madison? Probably nothing to it…right?
Noah Cross (John Huston in the classic Chinatown): “Either You Bring The Water To L.A., Or You Bring L.A. To The Water.”
Is this any different?
PWS
Now, all states and school districts have been doing this for decades. Even with that, students are only meeting the lowered requirements at dismal levels.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2025/10/30/illinois-standardized-test-scores-show-growth-with-new-benchmarks/
Can you imagine what the scores would be like if a Metropolitan Achievement test from 1975 were administered to these students on the 1975 scale? Would anyone break 5% at grade level?
“They would have increased if we had kept the same cut scores, however, we changed the cut scores, so we can’t tell you what they would have been, but we know they would have improved,” Sanders said.
Is this guy’s first name “Gabby?” Or maybe Nancy Pelosi: “You have to pass the bill in order to be able to read what it says.” Interesting to note that Iran is run by a council of experts.
Does anyone else wonder what has happened with Head Start? For 60ish years now we have been paying to remediate the effects of poverty, and the numbers have worsened.
OTOH, Mississippi in the last 10ish years has improved its numbers, by getting back to basics. It can be done if you ignore leftists and unions.