Area school report card grades hold steady

School districts in the Times coverage area received similar grades for the 2023-24 school years as they did for the previous term in the district accountability report cards issued recently by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The Blair-Taylor and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau districts graded out slightly higher than they did a year ago, while Arcadia, Independence and Whitehall were a hair lower. Ultimately, all five districts received accountability ratings that “meet expectations.”

G-E-T received the highest overall district grade and had the top individual school once again. For the eighth consecutive year, Ettrick Elementary received the highest grade amongst schools in the Times coverage area, scoring 87.7, which “significantly exceeds expectations,” according to the DPI.

Every school within the G-E-T district at least meets expectations. Galesville Elementary and the G-E-T Middle School both “exceed expectations,” with scores of 74.9 and 72.2. Trempealeau Elementary received a score of 66.9 and G-E-T High School scored 61.

The Arcadia School District saw a slight drop in its score, but was still the second-highest in the area. Arcadia scored 67.1 in the most recent report cards, down from 67.3 last year. Though, both the elementary and high schools graded higher and the middle school still “significantly exceeds expectations” as the second-highest graded school in the area. The elementary school grade increased from 50.4 to 54.1 and the high school went from “fails to meet expectations” to “meets few expectations” going from 46.9 to 52.8. The only drop came at the middle school level, which went from 86.9 to 84.5.

Whitehall also saw a slight decrease in its overall score, going from 65.8 for the 2022-23 school year to 65 for 2023-24. The district elementary school saw an increase, going from 69.7 to 72 “exceeding expectations.” The middle/high school went from 62.5 to 61.6, still scoring as “meets expectations.”

Independence saw another drop as its high school still rates as “fails to meet expectations” according to the DPI standards. Overall, the district score fell from 62.7 to 61.8, which still “meets expectations.” That includes a 78.1 score from the middle school, which “exceeds expectations” and a 60.8 from the elementary school, which “meets expectations.” The high school, however, dropped again going from 47.3 for 2022-23 to 46.9 last school year. 

Blair-Taylor’s score increased, but it still rated lowest amongst schools in the area with a 58.6. That is an improvement from the 57 the district received last year as both the elementary and middle/high school levels received better scores. The elementary score went from 61.4 to 63.6 and the middle/high school score increased from 54.5 to 56.7. 

The DPI publishes school and district report cards annually, as required by Wis. Stat. 115.385. Report cards include data for multiple school years across four priority areas: Achievement, Growth, Target Group Outcomes, and On-Track to Graduation. The Achievement and Growth priority areas are weighted based on a district or school percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils, as required by state law.

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), and 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. Over the summer, standard-setting processes occurred for statewide standardized assessments. A group of educators aligned cut scores to recently updated Wisconsin Academic Standards. Due to the updated cut scores, the DPI implemented a one-year scale adjustment to achievement scoring to allow for better comparability of report cards. 

Statewide overall ratings distribution on district report cards for 2023-24 was similar to 2022-23. Of 377 public school districts receiving report cards for 2023-24, 353 met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations (94 percent of districts). Among districts receiving report cards for both 2023-24 and 2022-23, 29 increased by one rating category compared to the prior year, 24 decreased by one rating category, and 324 had no change in rating. Report cards are not produced for districts that represent a single school. In these cases, school report cards are produced.

There were 1,939 report cards produced for public schools for 2023-24. Of the scored public school report cards, 1,622 met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations (84 percent). Among public schools receiving scored report cards for both 2023-24 and 2022-23, 249 increased in rating at least one category compared to the prior year, 212 decreased in rating at least one category, and 1,461 had no change in rating. Among public schools, 153 were unable to be scored and are rated using alternate accountability.