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Wisconsin school report cards published
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) published public and choice school and district report cards for the 2023-24 school year.
MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) published on Tuesday, Nov. 19 public and choice school and district report cards for the 2023-24 school year. But some conservative groups say the scores are inflated.
The DPI publishes school and district report cards annually, as required by state law. Report cards include data for multiple school years across four priority areas:
- Achievement
- Growth
- Target Group Outcomes
- On-Track to Graduation
VIEW report card for your school and/or school district
A news release says a district or school’s overall accountability score places it into one of five overall accountability ratings:
- Significantly Exceeds Expectations (five stars)
- Exceeds Expectations (four stars)
- Meets Expectations (three stars)
- Meets Few Expectations (two stars)
- Fails to Meet Expectations (one star)
Report cards use up to three years of data, including achievement data from 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24.
"The report card, they really provide a picture of where schools and districts perform, they help inform communities and they are a tool, a really valuable tool that schools and districts use areas that may be in need of improvement," said Chris Bucher, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
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The district and school grades are not just based on test scores. Yes, achievement on standardized tests is one part of the Wisconsin DPI equation. So is growth – how students' language arts and math performance are improving over time. And there is more.
Wisconsin law states, ""The department shall consider the impact of poverty on pupil achievement and growth by adjusting the importance given to the measures…"
The top-rated school districts give five stars – schools the state says "significantly exceed expectations." Some of them include: Mequon-Thiensville, Elmbrook and Whitefish Bay.
Schools the state says are "exceeding expectations" get four stars. Among those are: Wauwatosa, Franklin and Grafton.
The following are some of the districts that "meet expectations:" Milwaukee, Kenosha, Hartford, West Allis-West Milwaukee and Waukesha.
Among those "meeting few expectations" is Racine.
One-star schools "fail to meet expectations."
"You may think with some of the districts that struggle around the state that there would at least be some districts that rate only one star. It doesn’t mean that there’s nothing good going on, but it means that they really need improvement. There’s not one single school district in the state of Wisconsin that DPI rated one star," said Quinton Klabon, Institute for Reforming Government. "Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of inflation when it comes to how schools are rated in Wisconsin. Only 17% of schools in Wisconsin and only 7% of districts are rated 2 or 1 star. We know there are schools that struggle."
"There’s so much different data: chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, assessments, so I think when you’re looking just at the assessment picture, report cards are much more than that," Bucher said.
Wisconsin DPI said 94% of public school districts met, exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations. The state tweaked assessments released in October. DPI said that is because revised academic standards for English in 2020 and math in 2021 are now in the classroom – and so assessments needed to change.
"Results typically showed for most grades, slightly over 50% of students were meeting or advanced for both ELA and math, and that varies a little bit per grade level," said Duane Dorn, Wisconsin DPI. "Which is a lot different from what it was historically, I think historically it was right around 40% of students were proficient or advanced in previous years, so this is the new baseline year and that’s feeding into these report cards for this school year."
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"That happened a couple months ago when a group of experts in the field who are educators, those people who are in classrooms and work with students on a daily basis, they convened and helped us align cut scores on standardized assessments to recently-updated Wisconsin academic standards," Bucher said.
"Ideally we have consistent information for parents year to year. Unfortunately because of the pandemic and because of changes DPI recently made to test scores, that is impossible, so report cards were changed in 2021, they were changed this year in 2024, and there going to change again in 2025," Klabon said.
More information and resources on report cards can be found on the DPI’s report cards webpage.
Reaction
School Choice Wisconsin President Nicholas Kelly
"Parents across Wisconsin know what educational opportunities are best for their kids. School choice empowers them to make those decisions. While report cards are just one piece of information a family might use, it’s clear that Wisconsin’s choice schools give them important options.
"Regardless of measurement changes implemented this year by the Department of Public Instruction, as in the past students in the choice program continue to grow and achieve at a higher level. These results occur despite choice schools being funded at 70% of public school levels."