Welcome, if you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to our email newsletter. Thanks for visiting!

Elizabeth “Libby” Burmaster is the superintendent of public instruction for the State of Wisconsin. She is described by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as “closely associated with Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and was strongly backed by Democrats…,” even though her office is technically non-partisan.

From Burmaster’s statement on new DPI data, quoted in the MJS this morning:
“Despite increased poverty in Wisconsin, we saw gains at nearly every grade level in mathematics and rising or stable scores for reading.”

From the MJS story:

Nationwide, poverty and lower academic performance generally are found together. Burmaster said it was notable that Wisconsin’s scores stayed steady as the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch - the general definition for poverty among schoolchildren - had increased.
This year, the DPI said, 32.45% of students who took the state tests were labeled economically disadvantaged. Three years earlier, the figure was 26.56%.

What about this great Wisconsin economy Governor Doyle is always bragging about? With his careful stewardship and leadership for our economy, shouldn’t the number of kids in poverty be down, not up six points?

• Why Van's the Man - January 5th, 2009
• 9th Cir. Screws up Scouts' Case - January 5th, 2009
• Favorite Moment in the Final Days - December 29th, 2008
• Over on MULS Faculty Blog - December 29th, 2008
• The Race for DPI Superintendent - December 29th, 2008