EM and Colfax schools “meet expectations” on new report cards

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX & ELK MOUND — The new report cards are out, and schools in the Elk Mound and Colfax school districts “meet expectations.”

These are not — as some people have surmised — report cards for individual students.

The new report cards are issued by the state Department of Public Instruction to rate Wisconsin schools as part of the waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

The DPI released the preliminary report cards October 22.

Each school is given an overall accountability score and rating.

The Department of Public Instruction’s website contains links for most of the schools in Wisconsin, and ratings range from “significantly exceeds expectations” to “fails to meet expectations.”

Mound View Elementary, Elk Mound Middle School and Elk Mound High School each received accountability scores.

Only Colfax Elementary received an accountability score for the Colfax school district. Colfax Middle School is not listed on the DPI website, and no rating was given to Colfax High School because, according to the website, the district identified possible errors with data submission and the report is currently under review.

As of October 31, the DPI website still had not provided an accountability rating for Colfax High School.

The October 22 report cards are described as preliminary, and permanent report cards are expected to be posted to the DPI website in November.

Scores

The accountability score given to each school is not a percent of correct answers on a particular test, but rather, combines four priority areas scores to determine the accountability rating.

Schools that “significantly exceed” expectations have a score of between 83 and 100.

Schools that “exceed expectations” have a score of 73 to 82.9.

Schools that “meet expectations” have a score of 63 to 72.9.

Schools that “meet few expectations” have a score of 53 to 62.9.

Schools that “fail to meet expectations” have a score of 0 to 52.9.

The priority areas are student achievement, student growth, closing gaps, and on-track and postsecondary readiness.

Colfax Elementary

Colfax Elementary received a score of 71.6 on the new report card and “meets expectations” on the acceptable score spread of 63 to 72.9.

Colfax was rated at 66.3 on student achievement, compared to a statewide average of 66.4 for grades kindergarten through fifth.

On student growth, Colfax achieved a score of 52.8. No score is available for the statewide average.

The student growth score is a combination of reading growth (26.9) and mathematics growth (25.9).

On closing gaps, Colfax Elementary scored 80.2 points, compared to a statewide average of 65.7 (for K-5).

The closing gaps score is a combination of reading achievement gaps (38.2) and mathematics achievement gaps (42).

For on-track and postsecondary readiness, Colfax received a score of 87.2, compared to a statewide average of 86.7 (for K-5).

Mound View

Mound View Elementary received a score of 71 on the new report card and “meets expectations” on the acceptable score spread of 63 to 72.9.

Mound View was rated at 68.2 on student achievement, compared to a statewide average of 66.4 for grades kindergarten through fifth.

On student growth, Mound View achieved a score of 57.8. No score is available for the statewide average.

The student growth score is a combination of reading growth (31.7) and mathematics growth (26.1).

On closing gaps, Mound View scored 71 points, compared to a statewide average of 65.7 (for K-5).

The closing gaps score is a combination of reading achievement gaps (33.4) and mathematics achievement gaps (37.6).

For on-track and postsecondary readiness, Mound View received a score of 87, compared to a statewide average of 86.7 (for K-5).

Elk Mound Middle School

Elk Mound Middle School received a score of 68.5 on the new report card and “meets expectations” on the acceptable score spread of 63 to 72.9.

On student achievement, Elk Mound Middle School received a score of 70.6 compared to a statewide average of 66.4 (for grades 6-8).

For student growth, the middle school received a score 66, compared to a statewide average of 55 (for grades 6-8).

On closing gaps, Elk Mound Middle School received a score of 44.3, compared to a statewide average of 66 (for grades 6-8).

For on-track and postsecondary readiness, the middle school received a score of 93.2, compared to a statewide average of 88.9.

Elk Mound High School

On the new DPI report card, Elk Mound High School received an overall accountability rating of 69.8 (meets expectations) on the acceptable score spread of 63 to 72.9.

On student achievement, the high school has a score of 64.3, compared to a statewide average of 66.5.

For student growth and closing gaps, Elk Mound High School was not rated.

For on-track and postsecondary readiness, Elk Mound High School received a score of 86.4, compared to a statewide average of 82.3.

Elk Mound High School’s graduation rate is scored at 75.5, compared to a statewide average of 70.9.

Statewide

Wisconsin issued preliminary report cards for the 2011-2012 school year for 2,118 public schools.

A total of 68 schools “significantly exceeded expectations.”

A total of 637 schools “exceeded expectations.”

A total of 906 schools “meet expectations.”

A total of 190 schools “meet few expectations.”

A total of 76 schools “failed to meet expectations.”

Part of the accountability rating — student achievement and growth — is based on student achievement scores on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE).

The closing gaps score is based on the progress of students in reading and math and/or graduation rates.

The on-track and postsecondary readiness scores are based on performance for key indicators of readiness for graduation and postsecondary pursuits of college or career.

New assessments will begin in Wisconsin 2014-2015. Grades three through eight will be assessed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.

High schools will be assessed by ACT tests (EXPLORE, PLAN, ACT, and WorkKeys).