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Wimberger Pushes for Audit After DPI Hearing
One Wisconsin lawmaker is hoping that state auditors can provide the answers about state test changes that the state’s public school managers refused to provide.
Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, on Wednesday said the Department of Public Instruction “failed” to answer even basic questions about changes to the Forward Exam, and the now-infamous waterpark weekend, at the Assembly transparency committee’s hearing.
“[Tuesday’s] hearing once again shows that DPI is actively withholding records from the public over its attempt to quietly lower school standards behind closed doors,” Wimberger said. “These changes were only made to cover-over Superintendent [Jill] Underly’s failures, and weaken success standards for our students.”
DPI officials told lawmakers that the hearing into the waterpark weekend was a “distraction” and was "repetitive."
Wimberger said parents and lawmakers still don’t know who DPI decided to change the scores and language around the tests that Wisconsin school kids take.
DPI’s $400,000 waterpark weekend was part of a larger, $8 million effort to rework those tests.
Wimberger said the goal was to lower the bar, and make it look like Wisconsin school kids are reading and writing better than they actually are.
He hopes the audit that he ordered last year can finally get some answers.
“This lack of responsibility is exactly why I led the Audit Committee to order a full examination of DPI’s Forward Exam standards changes,” Wimberger added. “Wisconsin’s students, parents, and taxpayers deserve transparency from our education officials, and shouldn’t be left in the dark about how our school are performing. I look forward to this audit uncovering how and why DPI changed these standards so we can stop this manipulation from happening again.”
Wimberger said he hopes to get the results from that audit in “the coming weeks.”
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