Quality Counts' Report Raises Wisconsin's Scores

Wisconsin received Bs on a national education publication's grading of state education policies.

Education Week's annual "Quality Counts" report looked at four areas for each state: standards/accountability, support for improvement in teacher quality, school climate and resources.

Wisconsin's 2005 scores were higher than in past years. The largest increase was in the area of support for teacher quality, where Wisconsin went from a D+ in 2004 to a B- this year. Wisconsin's grade improved because the new teacher licensure rules are now in effect.

"This report is interesting, but tells us nothing new about Wisconsin's great schools," WEAC President Stan Johnson said. "Education Week looked at state education policies, not the quality of education a child receives."

One problem with the report is that it judges education on the narrow standards advocated by the Bush administration in the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which it calls the "No Child Left Behind" act. Those measures include standardized test scores, sanctions and yearly goals, Johnson said.

"In fact, Wisconsin's curriculum provides our children with a broader-based education and therefore its standards are more valid measures of what Wisconsin parents expect their children to learn," he said.

Johnson said Education Week does offer some useful insights, but if parents want to judge their schools' real quality, "they should visit their local school and see what's happening in thousands of classrooms that work in our great schools."

Posted January 5, 2005