State of Wisconsin School and District Accountability Report Card Ratings
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction today published school and district accountability report cards for the 2023-24 school year.
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. More information on this process can be found in this DPI resource.
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.
There were 418 private schools participating in a Private School Choice Program for 2023-24. Of scored private choice school report cards, 152 met, exceeded, or significantly exceeded expectations (85 percent). Among private choice schools receiving a score for both 2023-24 and 2022-23, 29 increased in rating at least one category compared to the prior year, 16 decreased in rating at least one category, and 119 had no change in rating. Fifty-seven percent (240 schools) of private choice schools were unable to be scored due to insufficient data. This is due to the tested choice student population being too small to meet the conditions required to produce report cards, either because of low test participation rates, or total choice student population size.
The school and district report cards are available on the DPI’s website. The DPI recommends careful review of not only the report card front page, but also of the detailed student performance data on the following pages. This data is broken down by student group and across years, helping to highlight trends and provide a deeper analysis of performance at the group, school, and district levels. Additional information on report cards can also be found on the DPI’s Office of Educational Accountability webpage.
These accountability report cards are available on the school district web site and on the Department of Public Instruction’s web site. For more information about any of the accountability report card ratings listed in this notice, please contact the District’s Administrative Office at 608-849-2000.
