Parents are used to receiving report cards informing them how their child is performing in school.
But, how about a report card on how the school is educating your child?
The state Department of Public Instruction will roll out its new School Report Cards beginning next week. It’s a new accountability system that allowed Wisconsin to earn a waiver from meeting certain 2014 requirements of No Child Left Behind.
Data was released to schools earlier this month, but has been embargoed to allow districts to vet them for errors. The reports are set to be released the week of Oct. 22.
The report cards for Port Washington-Saukville schools are positive, according to Superintendent of Schools Michael Weber.
"A preliminary look of the report card data for our five school buildings indicates that we did quite well, with all buildings scoring well within the 'meeting expectations' range," Weber said in a letter to parents.
Under the new system, schools will be graded in these areas:
- Student achievement in reading and mathematics on state assessments.
- Student growth measured by year-to-year improvements in achievement.
- Closing gaps in performance between specific student groups.
- Progress to graduation/post secondary readiness using reliable predictors of high school graduation and post-secondary success.
Schools will receive scores using a 0 to 100 scale, corresponding with five categories starting at "Fails to Meet Expectations" and topping out with "Significantly Exceeds Expectations."
The scores will be detailed in 18-page report on each school. The DPI scoring uses last year’s data.
The DPI will recognize top performers as “rewards schools.” Struggling schools will be required to start interventions and develop improvement plans.
The new system is part of state Superintendent Tony Evers' Agenda 2017 program, aimed at better preparing students for college and the workforce in Wisconsin, and improving high school graduation rates. The program includes changes in the way of how teachers are evaluated and student achievement is measured.
Wisconsin is among 32 states across the country creating . Under the exemption, the state is released from meeting a 2014 deadline requiring 100 percent of students be proficient in reading and math.
