In a significant development for Wisconsin’s education sector, the state’s Department of Public Instruction has unveiled new school report cards revealing that a vast majority of schools are performing well. This marks the first time these report cards have been released following a shift in standards, addressing previous criticisms over the difficulty in comparing results over different years.
The report indicates that 94% of Wisconsin’s 378 public school districts have achieved ratings of three stars or higher, signifying that they meet, exceed, or significantly exceed expectations. Notably, no district received a one-star rating, which would indicate failing to meet expectations.
When looking at individual schools, 85% of public institutions are meeting or surpassing expectations. Private schools participating in school choice showed lower percentages, with over half not receiving a ranking.
Milwaukee schools, however, show a different trend, with a majority ranking at or below two stars, and the district overall categorized as “meeting few expectations.”
The report cards are derived from a newly designed rating system established this summer. This system evaluates four key areas: achievement, growth, target group outcomes, and on-track to graduate. Achievement relates to test score proficiency, growth measures student improvement, target group outcomes focus on the progress of the lowest-performing students, and “on track” assesses whether students are progressing towards graduation.
These categories are weighted differently based on the income levels of school districts. According to the standards panel, this method highlights where low-income students have greater chances, as it emphasizes growth over sheer proficiency. The rationale is that economically disadvantaged students often face more hurdles in achieving high standardized test scores compared to their wealthier counterparts.
“Schools serving higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students are weighted more heavily toward growth, while schools that are maybe serving fewer of those students are weighted more toward achievement,” explained Chris Bucher, DPI’s communications director.
However, some conservative voices have raised concerns about this approach. Critics argue that it complicates the ability for parents to make straightforward comparisons between districts across Wisconsin.
“Despite what the state report cards say, we know that a lot of parents are not happy with the quality of education their children are receiving,” stated Quinton Klabon, senior research director of the conservative Institute for Reforming Government. He suggested that the new standards reflect the locations of poorer students more than the opportunities available to them, implying a lack of transparency for parents making crucial educational decisions.
“Wisconsin needs to start getting honest about the way that they evaluate schools so that parents can make the best choices,” he added.
This revised ranking system follows numerous changes instituted post-COVID-19, during which no scores were published. These federally mandated report cards are intended to establish a benchmark going forward, assisting in clearer year-over-year comparisons, according to Bucher. “This is a first year of a new trend line or new baseline. So we encourage everyone to use caution when making comparisons to past report cards,” he advised.
Parents and educators interested in viewing the detailed school and district report cards can access them on the DPI’s website.
