Republicans in the Senate and Assembly continued their debate over school accountability in advance of the bill’s scheduled vote in the Assembly. Representative Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) and Senator Paul Farrow (R-Pewaukee) exchanged letters pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the dueling bills that will be taken up on Thursday. Read More Sen. Farrow, Rep. Steineke Discuss Merits of School Accountability Bills
Last Wednesday, Bob Peterson – President of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association – took aim at Wisconsin’s school accountability plan. However, his claims don’t hold up once you push through the surface tension of a screed that’s more concerned with independent charter school operators than the performance and growth of students themselves. Read More Milwaukee Teachers’ Union President Attacks Successful Schools
Last week, the Milwaukee Public School Board voted on a plan to fix some of their failing schools before the state can. However, upcoming legislation may take that issue out of their hands while state officials enforce their own school accountability program. Read More UPDATED: The Clash Over How to Fix Milwaukee’s Failing Public Schools to Take Center Stage in Madison
Tuesday’s State Senate session went on as planned, but it was missing a bill that could change the lives of students across Wisconsin. Senate Bill 76, which would expand the role of high-performing independent charter schools throughout the state, was pulled from the docket on Monday evening. Read More Bill To Expand Successful Schools Pulled From Senate Calendar
Calls for an increase in the minimum wage would not help low skill workers and would have a devastating impact on teen employment, according to the MacIver Institute. Read More MacIver Report: Increasing Minimum Wage Hurts Teens
While 2014 may fly under the radar of Wisconsin politics after the tumult of 2011, the steps taken to change education in the Badger State will have a rippling effect that could change the future. Reforms like the implementation of Common Core standards, school accountability regulations, and a system that grades teachers will all share time in the state spotlight when education springs to the forefront of Wisconsin policy next year. Read More Major Education Policy Reforms Loom as the Calendar Turns to 2014
MacIver News Service – There were not crowds of 100,000 protesters storming the Capitol. There was not a recall election in which a Governor and Lieutenant Governor won for the first time in history. No state Senators faced a recall for taking a vote to reform government. But, Wisconsin still managed to have some pretty interesting moments in 2013. Read More MacIver’s Year in Review: The Top 10 Stories of 2013
Wisconsin got some bad news when this year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores showed that the state had the largest achievement gap in the country. Now, a breakout of scores in Milwaukee show that while the district produced some improvements, MPS lags far behind the national and big city averages for student performance. Read More Milwaukee NAEP Results Show Slight Growth but Trail American Big City Averages
MacIver News Service – Education Committees in both chambers of the state Legislation discussed a pair of bills that would allow independent charter schools to grow if they can prove that they are outperforming the district average when it comes to student outcomes. While the Assembly version of the bill was put up for public debate on Wednesday, the Senate version passed through the Education Committee behind a partisan 5-2 vote. Read More Education Committees Take Up Charter School Expansion Bills
Even when the funding follows the child, Milwaukee’s public schools are barely treading water compared to national counterparts. When it comes to districts that base their funding on individual students and their characteristics, Wisconsin’s largest district proved to only be better than Baltimore when it came to educational outcomes. Read More Milwaukee Ranks Second-to-Last Amongst Major Districts Where Funding Follows the Student