executive order #302
Relating to the creation of the Governor's Council on Model Academic Standards
WHEREAS, the State of Wisconsin does not currently possess educational content and performance standards for elementary and secondary school students that focus on the attainment of specific academic knowledge and skills in the core subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history and geography; and
WHEREAS, without a clear set of academic standards and measurements, future improvements in the effective and efficient use of Wisconsin's educational resources will be threatened; and
WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for all Wisconsin students to achieve at high levels if Wisconsin is to maintain a strong economy and high quality of life in the 21st century and beyond; and
WHEREAS, the Governor's Advisory Task Force on Education and Learning has recommended that the state develop model academic standards and a statewide assessment system in the core subject areas; and
WHEREAS, the Modern Red Schoolhouse Project, sponsored by the Hudson Institute, and other organizations and some states have developed rigorous model standards that focus on academic knowledge; and
WHEREAS, building on the work of these other efforts can save critical time in the standards development process:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, TOMMY G. THOMPSON, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of this State, and specifically by Section
14.019 of the Wisconsin Statutes, do hereby:
1. Establish the Governor's Council on Model Academic Standards (hereinafter "Council").
2. Provide that the Council shall consist of seven (7) members selected in the following manner:
a.
the Lieutenant Governor of the State of Wisconsin who shall serve as chair of the Council;
b.
the chairs and ranking minority members of the Senate and Assembly Education Committees or their designees;
c.
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction or his designee;
d.
one (1) public member appointed by the Governor to serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
3. Provide that the mission of the Council shall be to develop a set of standards to establish what students should know and be able to do in the subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, history and geography at grades four (4) and eight (8) and upon graduation from secondary school.
4. Provide that the Council's deliberations shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. academic standards developed by the Modern Red Schoolhouse Project;
b.
academic standards developed by other organizations and states;
c.
input and assistance from parents, educators and the business and labor communities;
d.
input and assistance from citizens of Wisconsin not affiliated with the educational community.
5. Require the Council to submit to the Governor an interim report by June 15, 1997 and a final report recommending model academic standards by September 15, 1997.
6. Instruct the Secretary of the Department of Administration to provide the Council with such sums of money as are necessary for travel and operating expenses as provided under Section
20.505(3)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes.
7. Provide that the Council shall dissolve when its final report is accepted by the Governor.
IN TESTIMONY WHERE OF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin to be affixed. Done at the Capitol in the city of Madison this twenty-fourth day of January in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven.
TOMMY G. THOMPSON
Governor
By the governor:
DOUGLAS LA FOLLETTE
Secretary of State
