MacIver Issues Grades by Dealing Off the Bottom of the Deck

The McIvery Institute publishes bogus grades on schools to explain away their racist educational reform policies.
Below is a direct quote from their press release explaining the criteria used to rank schools.
“The goal behind these rankings was to create a basic, but wide-ranging, program to gauge the performance of Wisconsin’s public school districts. The hope is that by creating a level playing field in district-to-district comparisons across the state, parents and policymakers will be able to use these rankings to demand more of their school districts. Several metrics were used to create an aggregate rating system. This includes:
• Global Report Card performance (math and reading)
• WSAS (WKCE) performance – 4th grade reading
• WSAS (WKCE) performance – 8th grade mathematics
• ACT scores and participation
• AP scores and participation
• Four-year graduation rate
• District attendance
• Concentration of students from economically disadvantaged families
• Concentration of students with limited English proficiency (LEP)”
The first criteria appear to have some face validity. However, note the last two measures used to rate schools. Your school district gets rated down just for having higher percentages of poor and Latino students.
Of course Milwaukee and Racine are at the bottom of the pack when McIver stacks the deck. What we have here is a classic case of dealing from a rigged deck. The top rated school, gets that rating in part because it is so racist and exclusionary. Most Wisconsinites will remember that Brookfield was sued for using its planning commission to stop low income housing from being built in their city. Talk about blaming the victims! Oh heck, who wants to go to school with poor folk anyhow? Why don’t we just call ‘em all lazy while we’re at it?
What would happen if all dem little black childs decides to take their vouchers and go to school in Brookfield. Oh, day can’t do dat? Hows come? Oh, because day is po and the right kind to bring out to Waukesha County. Awe, shucks! Well, at least we can send them to schools where they won’t be bothered to have to take all those pesky standardized tests. Best of all, we can defund the heathen Milwaukee Public Schools with all their liberal unionized teachers. Guess that’s the real reason anyway.

Fight So-Called "At Will" for Public Employees

Large employers have been quietly forcing their employees to accept a change in their employment status from permanent full-time staff covered by "just cause" protections to "at will" employees. Workers who have been with the same company for twenty years are being told they are now essentially day laborers. The practice has been pushed by business schools and organizations like Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce to prevent employees from suing for wrongful dismissal.
Now the uberlords of Fitzwalkerstan want to make public workers "at will" as well. You will of course remember how Walker lied to the people of Wisconsin when he swore that the end of collective bargaining would fair for workers because state employees would still have their Civil Service rights. "At Will" employment would remove those protections and allow evil republicans to turn the entire state into their own Tammany Hall style political machine.
Find out more about this proposal and scream like hell! This is just the type of legislation that the Governor could still try to push through in another of those so-called JOB CREATION special sessions.