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Committee discusses veto of bill to reset state testing standards; members note comparability concerns
Summary
Members reviewed the recent veto by Gov. Tony Evers of legislation that would have reset Department of Public Instruction testing/report-card standards to earlier baselines, and highlighted concerns that changing standards complicates year‑to‑year comparisons.
Committee members discussed a bill that passed both legislative chambers to reset Department of Public Instruction testing and report-card cut scores to earlier benchmarks, and noted Governor Tony Evers vetoed the measure.
Dr. Seibert summarized the veto rationale from the governor’s press release: he vetoed the bill because “he did not believe the legislature should be the ones making this decision, and he didn’t want to usurp the authority of the state superintendent,” Seibert said. The bill’s intent, as discussed by trustees, was to restore earlier baselines so districts could compare data year to year; trustees said frequent changes to standards and cut scores make longitudinal comparisons difficult for curriculum evaluation.
Trustee Brooks said the proposed reset would have returned report-card standards to earlier years (discussion referenced the 2019–20 baseline for report cards and a 2021–22 baseline for preACT measures), and described the inability to compare across years as a central concern for districts investing in curriculum and instructional changes.
No formal action was taken by the committee; members encouraged continued engagement with DPI and legislators to press for consistent measures that support year‑over‑year comparison and district accountability work.
