Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism reporter Abigail Becker sat down in October with state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, Department of Public Instruction spokesman Tom McCarthy and the agency’s Director of Education Information Services John Johnson.
Category: Education
Posted inEducation, Government, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Board overseeing Wisconsin’s for-profit schools fights for its life
With the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board on the chopping block in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget, EAB Executive Secretary David Dies fears the for-profit schools it oversees will ramp up practices that could harm students.
Posted inAnimal Research, Education, Health & Welfare
On the death of my monkey
The sign on his incubator said: “Born today, rejected by mother, male infant.” He was swaddled in a blue blanket. At first I thought he was dead; then he opened his tiny eyes. I may have been the first person he saw.
Posted inEducation, Justice & Safety
Drug crime penalties are ‘huge’ for students
For many, experimenting with drugs is part of college. But, the penalties of getting caught may be more severe than at any other time in their lives.
Posted inEducation, Justice & Safety
Undercover students used in drug busts at some University of Wisconsin campuses
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism checks at the UW System’s 13 four-year campuses turned up three sites at which officials acknowledge using students arrested for drug activities to make controlled buys. Opponents say this practice could place students in dangerous situations and exploits their vulnerability to losing thousands of dollars of federal financial aid and tuition by being suspended from school. But supporters say it provides an opportunity for students to avoid felonies.
Posted inEconomy, Education
Unpaid internships under fire in Wisconsin, nationwide
Unpaid interns, and the Wisconsin companies that hire them, are sorting out their options after a recent New York court ruling cast doubts on employers’ widespread practice of relying on eager young workers to perform without pay.
Posted inEducation, Government
School districts paying $25 million for controversial Common Core standards
Wisconsin’s new Common Core standards for math and English cost the state very little to implement because individual districts are footing the bill, which likely will come to about $25 million.
Posted inEducation, Government
Wisconsin educators put to the test
Wisconsin school districts will soon be required to evaluate all teachers and principals. Some are using a state-designed model; others are opting for another model designed by a quasi-governmental service agency.
Posted inEducation, Government
Districts make the choice
Most of the state’s school districts have already decided which of two approved models they intend to use to evaluate the performance of teachers and other educators in the coming school year.
Posted inEducation, Government
Too easy or too tough?
Some critics of the new Common Core standards embraced by Wisconsin schools feel they set the bar for students too high too early. Others argue that the standards are too easy.
Posted inEducation, Government
What Common Core requires
Common Core sets a series of benchmarks for what K-12 students should know and when they should know it. In some cases the standards are similar to those previously used in Wisconsin, which set benchmarks for just fourth, eighth and 12th grades. Other standards are more demanding. Here are some examples.
Posted inEducation, Government
New school standards under attack
The national standards, developed quietly and adopted by State Superintendent Tony Evers with little controversy in 2010, are now the subject of intense debate in Wisconsin and nationwide.