new state law requires the Universities of Wisconsin System to admit any high school student who finishes in the top 5% of their class to its flagship campus, UW-Madison. Students who finish in the top 10% of their class get direct admission to most other UW System schools. It’s a great program to encourage more bright students to attend one of Wisconsin’s fine universities.
2 Madison School Board members criticize administration on weighted grading
But the program has caused some problems in the Madison School District. Madison wasn’t used to ranking high school students by GPA and has had to adopt some new policies. One controversial choice was to not weight a student’s GPA based on course difficulty. That means a student who coasts through easy courses can have a higher GPA than students who challenge themselves with honors and AP classes.
Madison taxpayers have long supported far above average (now > $25,000 per student) K-12 tax & spending practices. This, despite long term, disastrous reading results.
Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?