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SB 95 shines a light on Governor Walker’s anti-education policies
12/7/2011 4:54:59 PM
Today, Governor Walker signed into law Senate Bill 95 allowing a teacher to be fired, disciplined or nonrenewed based on student WKCE test scores as long as this was not the sole reason.
We know that the WKCE was never intended to be a measurement of student learning or teacher effectiveness, but rather a snapshot in time tied to the punitive measures of the federal so-called “No Child Left Behind” law. We also know that arbitrary decision-making will ultimately hurt students as it becomes more difficult to attract and retain quality educators.
The new law also allows a school board to use an undefined “value-added analysis” of student WKCE scores to evaluate teachers. And it allows school districts to opt out of the SAGE class-size reduction program in grades two and three, abandoning a tried and true formula for increased student achievement.
The following can be attributed to Mary Bell, a teacher from Wisconsin Rapids and president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC):
“This is just another item to add to the growing list of attacks on educators and public education that Governor Walker and his allies have relentlessly pursued.”