State superintendent defends lowering test standards, changing terms away from 'basic' and 'below basic'

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Wisconsin's top education official is defending changes this year to the statewide standardized test taken by students in grades 3-8. The overhaul of the Forward Exam lowers the cut scores between groups, and it changes the terminology used to describe student performance.

In her first interview since the state Department of Public Instruction (DPI) enacted the changes, State Superintendent Jill Underly said the changes will provide a more accurate picture of how students fared on the test. 

"They were appearing to be doing worse than they really were," she said. "And so, this will give us a better measure of where kids are."

However, Gov. Tony Evers, who enacted the previous standards in 2012 when he was state superintendent, told reporters Tuesday he did not support lowering statewide testing standards. Critics have said scale of the test has also been changed to such an extent, it'll be nearly impossible to compare future results to previous trends.

The changes, which the DPI made in June, affect scoring on the English language, arts and math sections of the exam.

One noticeable change is the range, itself. The previous scoring scale for math included three-digit numbers, with a low score of 517 for third graders and a high of 611. The new scale for third grade math now runs between 1,370 and 1,740. 

Wisconsin's move to lower its testing standards mirrors several other states of all political stripes, from New York to Oklahoma, which have recently lowered their cut scores.

Alan Borsuk, a senior fellow at Marquette University with a focus on education, said the changes in Wisconsin are so significant, it will be hard to compare scores from 2024 and beyond to past years.  

"As someone who's paid attention to this subject for 25 years or more, I have no idea how I'm gonna decipher the new results," Borsuk said.

New language to describe results

Borsuk also questioned the changes to the Forward Exam's terminology. The highest of the four categories is still labeled as 'Advanced,' but after that, 'Proficient' is changed to 'Meeting.' The third level of 'Basic' is now 'Approaching,' and the bottom category was rebranded from 'Below Basic' to 'Developing.'

Underly said using terms like 'basic' to describe a child could be seen as insulting, and the changes adopt terms centered on improvement.

"It changes it to a growth mindset," she said. "I feel, again, like this is easier to understand where kids are and where they stand on the spectrum of learning."

When pressed on whether parents would really find 'developing' to be a clearer definition than 'below basic,' Underly said she did.

"I think so," she said. "I think that's certainly what our educators were hoping for in this change as well, and they feel it's easier to understand."

Borsuk said he worried the new terminology watered down the seriousness of student struggles in Milwaukee. For more than 20 years, Wisconsin has had the biggest achievement gap between Black and white students on National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing. 

That disparity has been driven by dismal outcomes in majority-Black schools in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). According to NAEP data, MPS is among the lowest-performing big city districts in the U.S.

"I'm all in favor of kids developing, but I also know there are a lot of kids out there, especially in the city of Milwaukee, which is the state capitol of education problems, unfortunately, who are really not developing," Borsuk said. "The progress they're making -- or not making -- needs to be regarded as an urgent crisis."

Both Underly and Borsuk agreed the previous scoring scale was aligned with NAEP standards, which are widely considered to be quite strict. 

Evers on scoring changes

Evers touted the new standards when he enacted the previous scale in 2012. In his State of Education address that year, he said, "We have higher expectations for our kids and ourselves."

When asked about the DPI's decision to lower cut scores this year, Evers said Tuesday he did not agree with lowering statewide standards.

"I think we need to have as high of standards as possible. I don't think we should be lowering them," he said. "But the fact of the matter is that's a DPI issue, not a governor's issue."

Evers said aligning the scores to NAEP may have been too ambitious but added he stood by his decision to raise the statewide cut scores.

"I think high standards are important, so yes, I think- maybe we raised them a little too high; I'm not quite sure about that," Evers said. "But high standards are important for kids in Milwaukee and Superior."

Underly said she wasn't opposed to high expectations before noting other states have lowered their cut scores as well. 

"There's nothing wrong with having high standards," she said. "We have high standards for kids every day, but with the way assessments are being used to compare kids, it's better to have them at a measure where they are more in alignment with other states."

As for the terminology changes, Minnesota's language for gauging student achievement level also includes four categories: Exceeds, Meets, Partially Meets, Does not Meet.

While Minnesota's terminology isn't based on 'growth,' Underly noted Wisconsin uses similar language on its school and district report cards, such as 'Meets Few Expectations' and 'Fails to Meet Expectations.' Underly added she was open to revisiting the Forward Exam language in the future. 

"I'm a big fan of what Minnesota does," she said. "So maybe we look at that down the line."