DPI releases School Report Card

By Angie Landsverk

Weyauwega-Fremont School High School’s junior class will take a practice ACT prior to taking the actual exam.

That will be among the actions at the high school level following the release of the 2015-16 report card for the district and each of its schools.

W-F High School’s report card score of 63.7 was in the Meets Expectations category.

The district received a district report card score of 76.2 for the 2015-16 school year, which fell in the Exceeds Expectations category.

Fremont Elementary’s 2015-16 school report card score of 88.2 placed it in the Significantly Exceeds Expectations category.

Weyauwega Elementary’s and W-F Middle School’s report card scores of 75.5 and 74.5 respectively fell in the Exceeds Expectations category.

Significantly Exceeds Expectations scores are from 83 to 100, while Exceeds Expectations scores are from 73 to 82.9.

Meets Expectations scores are from 63 to 72.9, and Meets Few Expectations scores are from 53 to 62.9.

Fails to Meet Expectations score are from 0 to 52.9.

“It’s not good enough. They want to exceed (expectations),” Kandi Martin, the district’s pupil services/curriculum director, said of the high school’s 2015-16 report card score.

How students do on the ACT test affects the report card.

The average composite score on the ACT college entrance exam for Wisconsin’s Class of 2016 was 20.5, compared to 22.2 for the Class of 2015.

For W-F’s Class of 2016, the average was 19.2, which compared to 22.9 for the Class of 2015.

“I know staff wants to get it up to 23 or 24,” Martin said.

The statewide number of 20.5 and district number of 19.2 reflect the first time 100 percent of Wisconsin’s graduating seniors took the test.

The ACT Plus Writing is scored on a scale of one to 36.

The 2014-15 school year became the first one in which all high school juniors in Wisconsin were required to take the ACT Plus Writing, regardless of whether they plan to go to college after high school.

Students with cognitive disabilities receive an alternate assessment.

While the 2015-16 school year was the second year all the state’s high school juniors took the ACT test, the 2015-16 report card was the first one to incorporate that data into the reports.

That is because two years ago was the last time the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction produced report cards for every school and district in the state.

That report card was for the 2013-14 school year and was before the state implemented a number of changes related to student assessments.

The 2014-15 school year saw the Badger Exam replace the Wisconsin Knowlege and Concepts Exam, as well as the mandate for all high school juniors to take the ACT.

“We did not receive a report card last year, because the Badger Exam was thrown out,” W-F District Administrator Scott Bleck said.

This past school year, the Forward Exam replaced the Badger Exam.

That was the result of legislated changes.

With the 2015-16 report cards based on changes included in the 2015-17 state budget, they are not comparable to report cards issued in prior years.

This year, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction produced report cards for every school and district in the state.

The report cards were based on four priority areas: student achievement, student growth, closing gaps and on-track and postsecondary readiness.

Also reported was performance on three student engagement indicators affecting student success and school effectiveness.

Those were test participation rates, absenteeism rate and dropout rate.

The goal for the test participation rate was 95 percent. The goal for the absenteeism rate was 13 percent or less, and the goal for the dropout rate was 6 percent or less.

Schools and districts saw their points deducted when they missed those targets.

Martin said the W-F School District did not receive any district deductions.

In her report to the school board, she also said Fremont Elementary’s report card surprised the district.

That is because while the school’s poverty rate was listed as 18.2 percent on its school report card, at one point during the year, 64 percent of the students were taking free/reduced lunch, she said.

Bleck described the report cards as a “great sounding board” to see how the district and its schools are doing.

Martin said the ACT will be the focus of attention at the high school.

Members of the high school’s staff are spending the month of December doing ACT Boot Camps in their classrooms, she said.

Math was the focus during the first week, followed by English during the second and third weeks for the reading and English portions of the test.

A science review will take place next week.

“All students are learning advanced level content and reviewing the curriculum at high levels of expectations to increase mastery in the content areas,” Martin said. “The goal is to further develop students success and ability to graduate college and career ready.”

A practice ACT was not given to students in the past.

The district will use the practice test as a way to help the students do their best when they, as well as the rest of Wisconsin’s high school juniors, take the test on Feb. 28.

The practice test will be corrected.

Jeremy Schroeder, principal of the middle and high schools, said motivation and exposure have impacts.

He said the Response to Intervention process is also being overhauled to make sure they are meeting the needs of all the students and not letting any student slip.

“The staff is working very hard,” Schroeder said.