Local School Districts Meet Expectations on School Report Cards

Thursday, November 16th, 2023 -- 2:00 PM

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction published school and district accountability report cards for the 2022-23 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 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.

Looking at the overall district scores for local and neighboring school districts:

• Neillsville received a score of 55.5 falling into meets few expectations;
• Granton received a score of 62.9 falling into meets expectations;
• Loyal received a score of 61.3 falling into meets expectations;
• Greenwood received a score of 65.9 falling into meets expectations,
• Owen-Withee received a score of 56.8 falling into meets few expectations;
• Thorp received a score of 70.4 falling into exceeds expectations;
• Colby received a score of 58.7 falling into meets expectations;
• Abbotsford received a score of 63.8 falling into meets expectations;
• Black River Falls received a score of 59.5 falling into meets expectations;
• Spencer received a score of 60.2 falling into meets expectations;
• And Marshfield received a score of 66 falling into meets expectations.

Statewide, achievement improved from 2021-22 to 2022-23, though for many schools and districts, 2022-23 achievement performance is lower than pre-pandemic levels; thus, report card achievement scores, overall scores, and ratings may have decreased despite upward trending achievement performance.

This is the first report card that does not include achievement data from assessments occurring prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The DPI urges caution when interpreting scores and ratings due to impacts resulting from the pandemic.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.