WEST ALLIS, Wisc. – Today, Tony Evers’ disastrous DPI released new Forward Exam scores that quantify the education failures of his administration – a testament to his abysmal leadership despite his decades of experience in the education bureaucracy.
On the most recent statewide assessments, just 37 percent of students are proficient in reading, 39 percent are proficient in math, and student achievement has not recovered from Evers’ refusal to help reopen schools during the pandemic.
“These terrible Forward exam scores are shocking,” said Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels. “Tony Evers has been in the Wisconsin education driver’s seat for more than two decades — as DPI Deputy Superintendent, Superintendent, and now Governor – and he’s driven Wisconsin schools into a ditch. Tony Evers owns this terrible record of unacceptable academic decline now facing the state.”
Low-income families continue to suffer the most from Evers’ failed leadership. If you’re low-income in Wisconsin, you’re twice as likely to be at the lowest reading or math level than you are to be proficient. Meanwhile, Evers has rejected efforts for more parental involvement – vetoing bipartisan literacy billsand a Parental Bill of Rights.
“The pandemic has awakened Wisconsin parents. They want more information and more control,” continued Michels. “They want their schools to respond to their concerns. If a school isn’t working for their child, they want the freedom to find a better option without having to move to a different address.
“Under a Michels administration, all schools will improve and the balance of power will shift fundamentally. The top-down mindset of the tired, old, failed Evers education establishment will yield to the wishes of parents. Tony Evers offers no solutions, only excuses. He takes no responsibility for his many failures. His time is up.”
Read Tim’s “I Trust Parents” Education Blueprint here.