Southern Wisconsin Times

On November 19, 2024, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released the School Report Card scores for the academic year. These scores are determined by evaluating four key areas: Student Achievement, Student Growth, Target Groups, and On-Track to Graduation & Post-secondary Readiness. The School District of Janesville received a rating of "Meets Few Expectations" with a score of 55.7 points.

The report cards serve as a snapshot in time and are one of several data points used by the School District of Janesville to guide actions aimed at improving student achievement. They rely heavily on student performance in exams from grades 3 through 11 in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, ACT, and Pre-ACT tests. Additionally, they consider measures such as student growth in achievement, attendance rates, and graduation readiness. Changes in cut scores for reading and math this year have posed challenges for comparing current data with previous years.

Mark Holzman, Superintendent of the district, stated: “Our elementary schools have shown encouraging progress in achievement and growth, and we are committed to building on this success to ensure all our schools meet and exceed expectations.” He emphasized that while report cards provide valuable insights into students' performance, they are just one tool among many used to measure success. Other tools include district STAR assessments in Reading and Math along with skills-based evaluations.

Allison DeGraaf, Director of Learning and Innovation noted that changes in school demographics affect how DPI weighs different categories within the report cards. She remarked: “This has an impact on the school’s and district’s final report cards." She also highlighted improvements seen after implementing new curricula like "Bridges" mathematics curriculum which resulted in a six percent increase over three years exceeding state averages.

Chris Medenwaldt, Director of Secondary Education commented: “We appreciate these report cards for helping us confirm that the areas we have decided to focus on for improvement are appropriate.” He mentioned ongoing efforts to improve secondary level achievements using dedicated resources based on data-driven insights.

Statewide results indicate that while there was improvement from 2021-22 to 2022-23 academic years; however many schools saw lower performances compared to pre-pandemic levels during 2023-24 resulting possibly decreasing overall ratings despite upward trends observed earlier.

For further details about DPI's report cards visit their official website at https://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards