MADISON – Senator Eric Wimberger (R-Gillett) released the following statement after the Assembly Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency (GOAT) Committee held a public hearing on the Department of Public Instruction’s four-day Wisconsin Dells resort conference to lower standards on the Forward Exam as a component of Wisconsin’s school performance standards:
“Today’s hearing once again shows that DPI is actively withholding records from the public over its attempt to quietly lower school standards behind closed doors. These changes were only made to cover over Superintendent Underly’s failures and weaken success standards for our students.
This lack of responsibility is exactly why I led the Audit Committee to order a full examination of DPI’s Forward Exam standards changes. Wisconsin’s students, parents, and taxpayers deserve transparency from our education officials, and shouldn’t be left in the dark about how our school are performing. I look forward to this audit uncovering how and why DPI changed these standards so we can stop this manipulation from happening again.”
As co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Senator Wimberger led the Committee in authorizing an audit of DPI’s school district accountability report process in February 2025. The audit report is expected to be released by the Audit Bureau in the coming weeks.
In February 2026, a report found that DPI spent $368,885 on a four-day workshop at a Wisconsin Dells resort to plan changes to the proficiency standards on Wisconsin’s Forward Exam. Further reporting revealed this retreat was part of an $8 million effort to change the Forward Exam scoring process in an attempt to paper over failures in Wisconsin schools under Superintendent Underly’s watch.
