Scores Inflate, Achievement Gaps Grow, As IRG Predicted
New test scores for Wisconsin K-12 schools, released this morning, are inflated, biased, and unreliable, as the Institute for Reforming Government Center for Investigative Oversight (IRG CIO) predicted yesterday in its report, “Testing Our Patience: How Wisconsin Lowered Standards, Widened the Achievement Gap, and Busted Its State Exams.” The report and supporting materials are located at reforminggovernment.org/test-score-changes.
What Happened: Statewide, the proficiency number rose 12% in reading and 12% for mathematics, confirming mass inflation of test scores. The new proficiency rates of 51% and 53% are far higher than even the Education Department’s pre-pandemic NAEP scores for Wisconsin, about 38% and 43% across grades.
On top of that, these changes were biased and lopsided, confirming new standards disproportionately favor advantaged students. Black students fell behind an additional 6% in reading and 8% in mathematics to White students. Economically disadvantaged students fell behind 2% and 3% more to the economically advantaged, and students with disabilities fell behind 8% and 7% more to those without disabilities.
The Black-White achievement gap is now 43% and 50% in Wisconsin. For low-income students, it’s now 32% and 35%.
Public records published by IRG CIO reveal DPI knew this would occur but did so anyway, creating chaos for schools, legislators, businesses, and families.
Why It Matters: New, lower standards for test scores make it impossible to compare students to before the pandemic or understand if they are really learning. New, unfair standards more harshly judge disadvantaged students, schools, and districts. DPI recently announced they will have drastically changed important “report cards” that rate schools 3 times in 5 years: 2021, 2024, and again in 2025.
Records also revealed State Superintendent Jill Underly criticized “nonsense going on with literacy” at the same time as Act 20 negotiations.
The Quote:
“Educating kids is hard. Other states have solved it by holding students and adults to high standards, then doing what works in the classroom. Wisconsin juiced the numbers instead. IRG’s CIO will continue to hold DPI accountable for this alarming error in judgment until they fix the damage.” – Jake Curtis, IRG General Counsel and CIO Director
Calls to Action:
- DPI must reverse all changes to scores for the good of students.
- Lawmakers have an opportunity to hold DPI accountable through oversight hearings, especially as DPI changes state report cards in 2025.
- Parents should encourage their school boards to rely on student screener tests to measure progress, not state test scores.
Have questions? Reach out to IRG Senior Research Director Quinton Klabon at QK@ReformingGovernment.org. Put Wisconsin’s kids first.
About IRG
IRG’s Center for Investigative Oversight was created in 2023 to hold government accountable.
The Institute for Reforming Government is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that seeks to simplify government at every level by offering policy solutions to thought leaders in American government in the areas of tax reform, government inefficiency, and burdensome regulations. To view this press release online, click here.
