In a significant push to unravel the murky decisions behind Wisconsin’s education benchmarks, the Joint Committee on Audit has embarked on an investigation that dovetails with the Dairyland Sentinel’s pursuit of answers from the Department of Public Instruction.

On Tuesday, the co-chairs of the committee announced they were zeroing in on how and why DPI overhauled its school report card process under current State Superintendent, Dr. Jill Underly.

Committee Co-Chairs, Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, and Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Caledonia, announced that next Tuesday, the committee will convene a public hearing and executive session to greenlight a sweeping audit into DPI’s controversial testing standards. The move, heralded as a critical step toward transparency, echoes Dairyland Sentinel’s monthlong battle to pierce the veil of secrecy surrounding the same issue through an open records request.

“Recent national reporting shows that less than a third of Wisconsin’s students can read at grade level. Rather than support science-backed reform that the Legislature passed last session, Superintendent Underly lowered statewide testing standards to cover over DPI’s failure to solve our literacy crisis,” Wimberger and Wittke said in a joint statement. “Superintendent Underly’s unilateral standard changing to cover up DPI’s failing is absolutely unacceptable, and this audit will help us uncover exactly how and why these reporting standards were changed to stop future manipulation.”

The audit’s focus mirrors the Dairyland Sentinel’s Jan. 21 report, which revealed DPI’s reluctance to disclose details about the “nearly 100 experts” Underly cited as endorsing her revisions to the Forward Exam’s benchmarks and grading terminology. We sought records on who these experts were, how they were selected, and any correspondence tied to their vetting—questions the agency has yet to fully answer. Now, the committee’s formidable authority promises to pry open the same locked doors the Dairyland Sentinel has been knocking on.

Underly’s changes, rolled out for the 2023-2024 school year, have drawn fire for muddying performance data and clashing with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a congressionally mandated gauge of state education systems. The latest NAEP report, released in January 2025, painted a grim picture: more than two-thirds of Wisconsin’s fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading. That figure stands in sharp contrast to DPI’s more forgiving scores under the revised standards, fueling accusations of manipulation.

DPI has defended the process, pointing to a public list of experts on page 322 of a pdf of a document posted on its website, but critics—including the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty—contend the changes obscure historical comparisons and national benchmarks. The Sentinel’s unanswered request for deeper documentation has only amplified those concerns, setting the stage for the committee’s intervention.

The lawmakers’ decision to wield the audit’s full weight comes as Underly navigates a politically charged moment. Fresh off a primary win Feb. 18, she faces a general election April 1, with her tenure under scrutiny from Republicans and even Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, over the testing overhaul and perceived opacity.

For the Dairyland Sentinel, the committee’s action marks a vindication of its reporting, which first spotlighted DPI’s shrug-off of complaints about the standards shift. The outlet’s push for records has hit roadblocks, with DPI offering incomplete responses on February 6, despite legal obligations for full disclosure under Wisconsin’s open records law.

Now, with the Joint Committee stepping in, the combined efforts could finally expose the inner workings of Underly’s management of the Department of Public Instruction

The audit’s approval awaits the upcoming committee session, and its findings are poised to reverberate through the state Capitol as lawmakers grapple with education policy. For now, the convergence of the committee’s muscle and the Dairyland Sentinel’s continued search for answers underscores a shared mission: to shine a light on how DPI reshaped Wisconsin’s educational metrics—and why the State Superintendent continues to fight to keep the process in the shadows.

Here is the content of our original Records Request

Brian Fraley
info @ DairylandSentinel.com
(262) 204-705XX


Brian Fraley, Publisher
Dairyland Sentinel
3215 Golf Road #129
Delafield, WI 53018

January 21, 2025

Jill Underly and the Official Custodian of Records for the Department
State of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
201 West Washington, Avenue
Madison, WI 53703

Dear Superintendent Underly:

Under the Wisconsin Open Records Law, §§19.31 to 19.39 I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of public records that relate to the panel of “nearly 100 experts from across the state” who recommended the updated achievement benchmarks for the forward exam, as per your statement of early today as reported by Corrinne Hess of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Specifically:

1) Who were these experts? How are they chosen? Please provide documentation, including invitations and relevant discussions regarding the geographic and ideological diversity. Please also provide any communication with anyone in your department regarding the vetting of these experts including correspondence with any groups or individuals consulted regarding the composition of this group.

2) When and where did they meet? Please provide agendas, minutes and any Zoom or other recording of the meetings.

3) Were any of the 100 experts asked to sign a non disclosure agreement or similar document that would shield the public from information regarding the discussions? Please provide any relevant emails and other documents given to the advisory group, including any Non Disclosure contracts or discussions regarding any such agreements.

4) Please provide a complete timeline of this consultation process and include an itemized listing of any state expenditures including staff time and equipment purchases, meeting space rental, food, travel, lodging or other accommodations.

If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me if the cost will exceed $1. However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the changes in terminology and cut scores. I intend on publishing your response at DairylandSentinel.com. This information is being sought in the public interest and the data will not be used for commercial purposes.

I would request a response in writing, within the 5 days described by law, if you intend to deny this request. Also, if you expect a significant delay in fulfilling this request, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.

If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.

Thank you for considering my request.

Sincerely,

Brian Fraley
info @ DairylandSentinel.com
(262) 204-XXXX