This report from the WisKids Count project, instead of being the usual annual data book about an array of issues affecting children, is a collection of essays that take a critical look at the practice of standardized testing and the status of testing in Wisconsin. In the 2002-2001 school year, more than 250,000 Wisconsin children in public schools…

Standards-based reform activity dominated K-12 education during the 1990s, reflecting a consensus that improving learning requires state-level curricular standards and examinations. Opponents argue state-imposed standards and tests overly burden districts, degrade teaching and learning, suffer from numerous technical problems, and have failed to…

The following steps have been taken to accomplish the goals of the Wisconsin Pupil Assessment Program: the development of objective-referenced tests; the administration of a standardized norm-referenced test; reporting of trends in performance on these tests; and the availability of two testing services and personnel for consultation purposes.…

Results from the 1993 administration of the Wisconsin Third Grade Reading Test are presented in a 43-page table that lists the results for each school district and school in Wisconsin. Statewide, over 52,000 students from over 300 districts took this test. The following categories for each 4-digit district code and each 8-digit school code…