Wisconsin
News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Wisconsin
Education
11 Wis. School Districts Reject Stimulus Money
Eleven Wisconsin school districts want nothing to do with a highly touted federal grant program that could direct thousands of dollars to their classrooms.
Federal
Obama Coaxes States to Change With School Dollars
President Barack Obama challenged states Wednesday to get their education policies in line with his administration's priorities if they want a chance at $5 billion in grants.
Education Funding
Wis. Teachers Couldn't Be Fired Over Test Scores
Wisconsin schools could use student test scores to evaluate teachers, but they still couldn't use the information to discipline or fire them under a bill moving quickly through the Legislature.
Federal
Scrutiny Heightens for ‘Value Added’ Research Methods
As value-added research designs gain in popularity and undergo increasing scrutiny, experts are beginning to wave cautionary flags about how best to make use of them in education.
School Choice & Charters
Study: Milwaukee Voucher Students Have Diploma Edge
A new study contends that the city's private-school-voucher program produces high school graduates at significantly higher rates than those who attend regular secondary schools
Federal
Wis. District Steps Up Response to Growing Minority Enrollment
To stem concerns that minority students in Green Bay, Wis., lack teachers they can identify with, school officials have pledged to focus on recruiting and hiring nonwhite faculty members.
Law & Courts
Lawmakers Debate Wis. Admissions
A group of state lawmakers is seeking to overturn the University of Wisconsin system’s new admissions policy that requires campuses to review each applicant individually and consider factors such as race and past experiences along with academic record.
States
State of the States
Higher Education at Forefront of Wisconsin Education Plan
Wisconsin Gov. James E. Doyle calling on lawmakers to “make Wisconsin a place where anyone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard … can afford to get an education.”
Federal
Reacting to Reviews, States Cut Portfolio Assessments for ELL Students
Arkansas and Wisconsin have dropped portfolio assessments for English-language learners after receiving letters from the U.S. Department of Education saying the states had to prove those tests were valid or their large-scale assessment systems would be rejected under the No Child Left Behind Act.
Reading & Literacy
Audit Faults Wisconsin’s ‘Reading First’ Grant Process
Wisconsin education officials failed to ensure that schools and districts that received federal Reading First grants adhered to the program’s strict guidelines, a failing that, if not rectified, could cost the state nearly $6 million of its $45 million allocation, a federal report concludes.
School Choice & Charters
Fla., Wisconsin Tying More Strings to Vouchers
When the Florida Senate took up a measure this month designed to protect voucher programs from legal challenges, the chamber couldn’t have been more divided: The bill was defeated by just one vote. Two days later, however, another voucher bill won unanimous Senate support.
Classroom Technology
Wis. Court Sides With Virtual Schools
A legal challenge to a virtual charter school in Wisconsin has failed, the second time in three years that a state court has turned down arguments from Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union that the Internet schools are illegal.
College & Workforce Readiness
State of the States
‘Covenant’ Would Offer College Scholarships
Gov. James E. Doyle focused in his Jan. 17 State of the State Address on programs he says would help Wisconsin’s middle-class families afford better educational and health-care opportunities.