State Senator says school report card grading just smoke and mirrors show hiding what’s really happening

Tuesday, State Senator John Jager (R-Watertown) responded to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) release of school report cards for the state. The report cards come after controversial decision this summer to adjust the scores for the State Forward Exam and reconfigure how schools are graded by the state.

“The state report cards have been rendered useless by the actions of DPI and State Superintendent Jill Underly, a move even panned by Governor Evers.” said Jagler. “There is no doubt we have great schools in Wisconsin but when 94 percent of school districts are graded as met expectations or above, there is little to no useful information to be gathered from these. With literacy rates falling, absenteeism rising and violence in our schools, any rational person would be hard pressed to say 94 percent of our schools are meeting expectations. Once again, the adults in charge are failing our kids.”

The school report cards were created to give parents a transparent view of their schools to make the best decisions for their kids. Legislators and state agencies rely on the report cards to make informed decisions about allocation of resources and management of our schools.

“They have changed the dials behind closed doors with the goal, I believe, of giving the illusion of student achievement while our kids continue to suffer.” Jagler continued, “we will need to take a hard look at the report cards this session and how DPI is managing them. They have clearly lost a connection to the parents who want to see what’s best for their kids.”

Sen. Jagler serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and represents the 13^th Senate District covering all or parts of Adams, Columbia, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Jefferson, Marquette, Waushara and Winnebago Counties