MacIver News Service – Wisconsin’s graduating class of 2016 scored an average of 20.5 out of 36 on the ACT exam – a 1.7 point drop from the class of 2015 and slightly below the national average score of 20.8. Of the 18 states that test all public school graduates, Wisconsin’s students ranked fourth, and third best in the midwest. Read More A Deeper Look into Wisconsin’s ACT Scores
MacIver Perspective by Ola Lisowski – With Memorial Day weekend behind us and the Fourth of July on the horizon, summer is underway in Wisconsin. Of course, we can’t forget one important bellwether: the end of the school year. Having thrown their backpacks in the corners of their rooms for the next few months, Wisconsin’s K-12 students ended the school year. Read More MPS Must Show Its Work
By MacIver Institute Research Associate Ola Lisowski – In the saga that is the Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program (OSPP), the adults in the room have turned in their homework late.
Read More In Milwaukee, the Adults Turn in Homework Late
How community leaders could choose the union status quo at MPS over the dreams of our children is mind-blowing. MPS graduates less than 60 percent of students in four years, only a quarter of students are proficient in English, and fewer than 17 percent of students are proficient in math. During the last Badger Exam, a whopping 53 percent of MPS students scored “below basic” on math. Read More In the Battle Over MPS, Will Abele and the Milwaukee Teachers’ Union Pick What Is Best for Our Children or Their Own Self-Preservation?
MacIver News Service – “Continuing Government Reform” was Gov. Scott Walker’s topic in this week’s radio address. One of those reforms, highlighted in a recent press release, includes new fraud prevention measures at the Department of Revenue (DOR) which have protected taxpayers $58 million in fraud last tax season. Read More Taxpayers Save $58 Million Last Tax Season from Gov. Walker’s Anti-Tax Fraud Measures
By Ola Lisowski, MacIver Institute Research Associate – In their last week of legislative session, the Assembly and Senate passed dozens of bills. One particular issue – education – deserves extra attention because of the crucial role it plays. In this roundup, we focus on just that – education. Read More Assembly Session Education Roundup
MacIver News Service – After Maine implemented work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents participating in the FoodShare program, enrollment of those individuals dropped 80 percent, a recent article reports. Read More Maine Increases Work Requirements for FoodShare, Enrollments Drop
We question the Milwaukee Hunger Task Force executive director’s conflicting statements on work requirements for public assistance programs in an op-ed appearing in today’s Journal-Sentinel. We make the case that such requirements are common-sense, not tantamount to “slavery.” Read More The MacIver Institute Defends FoodShare Sanity in Journal Sentinel
MacIver Perspective by Ola Lisowski – The Executive Director of Milwaukee’s Hunger Task force has agreed that work is the most dignified way to put food on the table, yet she recently compared work programs to slavery. So which is it? Read More Working to put Food on the Table is Dignity, not Slavery
Delegates to the Paris climate talks disagreed on several key issues during a teleconference last week, mirroring the difficulties world leaders face back home – including Pres. Obama, whose Clean Power Plan has struggled to gain support. Read More Divisions Among Wisconsin Delegates to Paris Mirror Climate Strife Back Home