Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz:
Well, okay, so not the whole board. Just one and a half of the seven members. Those members are Nicki Vander Meulen and Martha Siravo. The issue is weighted grading. The state of Wisconsin has set up a system that guarantees admission to the highly sought after Madison campus to high school students who rank in the top 5% of their class. Those in the top 10% are automatically admitted to other schools in the system.
That has made class ranking more important than ever, so the question now arises how fair those rankings are. If a student leans on easier courses and pulls a 4.0, she can rank above another student who takes the most rigorous courses and earns a 3.9. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
Well, that’s what Vander Meulen thinks. Siravo says she’s not sure, but she’s justifiably unhappy that the administration of Superintendent Joe Gothard made that decision without consulting the board and has been slow to answer her questions about the policy.
The official administration answer is: “Our decision to keep what’s currently in place reflects our belief in the importance of a system that supports equity, maintains transparency and reflects our community’s values,”
“fears of too many parents who worry that Madison’s public schools are not rigorous enough.”