The Forward Institute of Wisconsin released a new study of education policy in the state.
This is a statement made by the Institute’s Chair, Scott Wittkopf:
Wisconsin has always been a leader in K-12 public education because we have long valued the right of every child to receive a quality public education. The fundamental nature of our values is reflected in the State Constitution, which guarantees all children equal access to educational opportunity in our public schools. That constitutional right is now being systematically eroded and defunded. The research presented in this report shows that current fiscal policy and education funding are depriving our poorest students access to a sound public education. Public schools are not failing our children, Wisconsin legislators and policymakers are failing the public schools that serve our children.
Our comprehensive report documents in detail that the resources being afforded schools and students of poverty are insufficient, and facing further reduction. Moreover, the resources being diverted from schools of poverty into non-traditional alternative education programs are producing questionable results with little to no accountability for the state funding they receive.
The following seven points highlight critical findings of our study:
1. The number of students in poverty has nearly doubled since 1997, increasing from 24% of all students to 42% (Reference Poster Figure 1). At the same time, inflation-adjusted state funding of public education has fallen to its lowest level in over 17 years. On average, schools with higher poverty enrollment levels have experienced per-pupil funding cuts over 2 times the cuts in the most affluent districts.
2. Analyzing state testing data revealed a paradox within economically disadvantaged (ED) students scoring proficient or advanced. As ED enrollment increased, the percentage of ED students scoring proficient or advanced also increased. Our analysis discovered that as more children dropped into ED due to economic circumstances, they brought their typically higher test scores into the ED group. This has resulted in the false perception that poorer students’ test proficiency rates have been rising. Further, as ED enrollment approaches 50%, we are seeing a plateau and beginning of a downward trend in ED scores. A student who begins in poverty does not have previously higher scores to bring into a cohort, as we observed over the past decade. Therefore, we can expect to see a growing achievement gap between ED and non-ED test scores in the coming decade.
3. If the Walker proposal to increase voucher school funding is adopted, over $2,000 more will go to a K-8 voucher student than a public school student. A voucher high school student will receive nearly $3000 more in state aid than a public school student (Reference Poster Figure #2). When controlling for inflation, K-8 voucher schools will have seen a $400 increase, and voucher high schools a $1000 increase in per student funding from the 1999 school year. In comparison, public schools will have seen a $1000 per student decrease from the 1999 level. The economic disparities in state funding between voucher and public schools are important in the education funding debate. As we will demonstrate, there is evidence that voucher schools have no positive effect on student graduation/attainment levels or test scores. This raises the question, is there sufficient evidence to support the claim of voucher advocates that voucher schools afford a better educational opportunity to students? Based on the data, we conclude the evidence does not support this claim.
4. The new School Report Card scores released by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have a strong correlation to the level of poverty in any given school and school district (reference poster figure #3). Nearly half of the school-to-school difference in Report Card Scores can be explained by the difference in poverty level from school to school. When compared to other factors at the school district level such as teacher experience, racial demographics, and per pupil revenue limits, poverty still accounts for 44% of the school district difference in Report Card scores. This fact makes any use of the DPI School Report Cards for significant funding or incentive decisions poor public policy.
5. The Walker budget proposes to expand voucher schools into districts where School Report Card scores “fail to meet expectations.” This proposal will assure that more schools and school districts of high poverty will lose resources. As we have shown, School Report Card scores are directly correlated to level of poverty, and districts with underperforming schools are therefore districts with schools of higher poverty. Funding to operate the voucher school expansion will come directly out of those public schools of highest poverty.
6. Milwaukee voucher program students underperform Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students on statewide tests, with a lower percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced. In the Milwaukee voucher program (based on two years’ (2010-2012) data) over 20 children graduate for every child testing proficient in 10th grade reading. The statewide ratio is about 1:1. The MPS ratio is about 2:1. In mathematics, the statewide ratio is about 1:1, MPS ratio is about 3:1, and the voucher student ratio is over 50:1.That means over 20 voucher students graduate for every voucher student proficient in 10th grade reading, and over 50 voucher students graduate for every voucher student proficient in 10th grade mathematics. This translates into a much higher cost in state aid for a voucher student to become proficient or advanced than an MPS or high poverty statewide student to become proficient or advanced (reference poster figure #4). This provides a stark illustration of the high cost to taxpayers for low student proficiency in the voucher program, and raises a significant question of educational adequacy for voucher schools, as the expectation should be for a high school graduate to be proficient in reading and math.
7. As a result of recent budget decisions resulting in education austerity, there is strong evidence that the current public education funding and delivery system in Wisconsin is unconstitutional. When compared to their more affluent peers, students of poverty are not receiving an adequate public education as defined by State Supreme Court precedent, statutes, and the State Constitution. Further, the system has created two distinct classes of students, those of poverty and non-poverty. Both groups have predictable outcomes based on level of poverty. Recent budgeting decisions are exacerbating this dichotomy.
Based on our conclusions, we present the following 5 policy recommendations:
1. Fair Funding – The Legislature should approve, and the Governor should sign, Dr. Tony Evers’ “Fair Funding” formula into law. This would be a first step toward addressing the increasing needs of rural and urban districts most affected by poverty.
2. Address Issues of Poverty and Education – The two greatest challenges to ensuring a prosperous and vibrant Wisconsin for future generations are poverty and education. The Governor should join with non-partisan, bi-partisan, broad-based constituent groups to appoint a “Blue Ribbon Commission.” This commission should be charged with a one-year mission to develop a statewide plan bringing parents and communities (rural and urban) impacted by poverty together for the purpose of implementing an intervention plan to address poverty and education issues. There are already successful models in communities that address the external poverty issues that have negative effects on education. Achievement gaps are largely attributable to factors outside of school walls. If Wisconsin is to substantially narrow these gaps, education policy must incorporate health and nutrition supports and after-school enrichment to address barriers to learning that are driven by child poverty.
3. Voucher Program Sunset – The twenty-year Milwaukee and one-year Racine private school voucher experiment should be sunsetted by the Legislature in 2024. The voucher experiment can show no positive voucher school effects on student outcomes and attainment, beyond what already can be attributed to the voucher schools’ select student demographic and parental factors. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund a second statewide school district, nor an expensive entitlement program, when the public schools are not failing. It is, in fact, the state of Wisconsin that is failing public schools and the children they serve. Dividing resources between two statewide school districts exacerbates this growing problem in the face of increasing poverty rates.
4. Charter Schools – Charter schools eligible for state aid should be allowed only under the auspices and as an instrumentality of an existing public school district to ensure public accountability in fiscal, academic, staff, and student functions.
5. School Report Cards – School Report Cards issued by DPI should be used as part of the big picture to measure overall school and student performance along with other standards and measures, balancing “input” (educational access, quality, services, resources, etc.) and “output” (student results). It should be acknowledged that the use of School Report Cards exclusively for reward, incentive, funding, penalty, or other fiscal consequence is improper, poor public policy, and would further erode access to educational opportunity.
This report demonstrates in detail that the resources being afforded schools and students of poverty are insufficient, and indeed are facing further reduction. Moreover, the resources being diverted from schools of poverty into non-traditional alternative education programs are producing questionable results with little to no accountability for the funding they receive. The failure of Wisconsin policy makers to acknowledge and address these issues is creating a generation of economically disadvantaged students that will lag far behind their more fortunate peers.
Public schools are not failing Wisconsin’s students, the state of Wisconsin is failing the public schools which serve these students.
The full report can be accessed here:
Wisconsin Budget Policy and Poverty in Education 2013
The full data will be posted within two days on our “Research” page.
Wisconsin has really been putting on the heat to demonstrate just how bad this privatization scheme is and what that path has entailed. This report above along with this one: http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/p-is-for-payoff.pdf are key reads that tell the story well. If it sounds familiar to you who aren’t a “cheesehead,” it’s because the corporate-state education reform agenda simply follows a simple script that simply aims to destroy public education so that this sort of wheeling and dealing (and more) becomes commonplace: http://www.scribd.com/doc/106337306/THE-CHICAGO-PUBLIC-SCHOOLS-ALLERGIC-TO-ACTIVISM There’s gold to be made in a land of confusion and chaos – by thieves, crooks, etc.
I think we all need PR people to turn this hard data into catchy talking points and slogans with supporting documentation easily accessible. That ‘s probably a good job for the Network for Public Education. It’s always a struggle to come up with a string of references on a particular talking point on the spur of the moment. Having one source to to which we could refer would be great.
What Walker is doing is just adult game playing and has nothing that will benefit kids. However, if we are to take seriously the damage done by artificial tests, we then cannot use them when they are to our advantage. They are simply NOT an indicator of academic achievement. Even Dr. Fuller disagreed, in a presentation to the legislature, with vouchers for everyone. The reality is just changing the name of the program does nothing to resolve the systemic problem. The same system is followed by all and the same failure is in all.
With a red “W” shirt on as I am typing this, I hope the legislature in Wisconsin and Governor Walker take these recommendations seriously. But after seeing what they did last year, I doubt they will do anything at all about this. No state government is doing anything substantial to address the effects of poverty on their citizens. Government is failing its citizens.
Now that education “reform” has been around for several years, it’s plain to see that the true purpose is to divest in the education of the poor. Shame, shame, shame.
EdWeek now advertizing AMPLIFY TABLET by JOEL KLEIN:
“It doesn’t feel like homework.” That’s been the overwhelming response from students using the new Amplify Tablet. As the first open, tablet-based learning platform designed specifically for the classroom and the school day, students are more engaged and more excited to learn when they use the Amplify tablet.
Don’t take our word for it, though.
Watch this video featuring students and teachers who’ve had their education experiences Amplified.
Our favorite part of this video is when a math teacher describes a student — there’s at least one of these in every classroom — who had previously never raised his hand and barely ever spoke:
That’s the difference that the Amplify Tablet makes. See for yourself now:
http://www.amplify.com/Tablet
Thanks,
The Amplify Team
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Editorial Projects in Education, Inc., 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814. Copyright © 2013 Editorial Projects in Education.
This is all a result of the stupid public voting against their best interests and that is the proper education of all their children. Until they stop taking whatever psychotropic heavy drugs they are on or the cult they are in nothing will change. The public is to blame for this as they continue to put these sociopaths in office.
I voted for my good friend and decent human being, Tom Barrett. Now I live in North Carolina headed for South America. No mas WI!
Vouchers for everyone is a terrible idea, unless your goal is to create a demand for more charters. What will happen in Wisconsin is the cost to attend a private school will increase, and then a “demand” will be created for charter schools.
Again, as I’ve said before, this will do NOTHING to actually SOLVE any problems in education, but merely SHIFT those problems into a for-profit model.
Walker is a fraud, plain and simple. It amazes me that guys like him can sleep at night.
Sadly, one could probably substitute most any state’s name (& governor–Snyder, for sure!) for Wisconsin.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/?track=rss
Well depending on what happens here in Chicago, maybe Wisconsin and all the other states can follow suit!…Go CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION
In updated CPS/CTU news, a parental lawsuit is being filed as to
violations in the school closings. CTU, in part,is paying for some of this. There was a press conference today, and the announcement was televised on both the evening and the ten o’clock news for the local affiliates ABC, CBS & NBC stations (9 PM for the two locals that have the news on for an hour). Also, CLTV (constant news shows). GREAT media coverage all around!
I wish this report had addressed the proposed special needs voucher expansion in Wisconsin too. We’re really getting hit from all sides here.
Joanne, google ALEC Exposed. The special education vouchers are an ALEC priority. The reality is that students with disabilities have stronger legal protections and better quality care in public schools than in voucher schools.
Hi Diane — I’m chair of the Stop Special Needs Vouchers Wisconsin steering committee — could we possibly communicate via e-mail? My address is joannethatsme@yahoo.com.
Part of the reason that measured poverty has increased is that anti poverty efforts like the earned income tax credit have no impact on measured poverty.
TE–Explain further, please.Thanks.