Kewaunee County schools: DPI report card scores down but still exceed, meet expectations

Green Bay Press-Gazette

MADISON - Scores for Kewaunee County school districts fell in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's school report cards for 2018-19, although all three districts continued to meet or exceed the department's expectations with their scores.

The Luxemburg-Casco and Kewaunee districts each were scored in the four-star "Exceeds Expectations" category for a fourth straight year, with Luxemburg-Casco recording an overall score of 77.4 out of 100 while Kewaunee scored 73.1. A score between 73 and 82.9 is required for this category, with 198 of the state's 421 public districts meeting that mark, according to the department. Luxemburg-Casco's overall score placed it in the top third in the state, tied for 131st.

Luxemburg-Casco achieved a score of 82.4 in 2017-18, while Kewaunee tallied 75.1 that year.

Algoma was given an overall score of 65.9, placing it in the three-star "Meets Expectations" category for school districts with scores between 63 and 72.9. In total, 163 districts were scored in that range. Algoma's score the year before was 72.8.

The only category above "Exceeds Expectations" is "Significantly Exceeds Expectations," the five-star category which requires an overall score of 83 or more. Only 40 districts in the state reached that plateau.

Seventeen districts in the state fell into "Meets Few Expectations" (two stars) with scores from 53 to 62.9, and one scored less than 53, or "Fails to Meet Expectations" (one star).

Back to school. Textbooks stacked on wooden school desk in front of green chalkboard. Classroom setting.

Ninety-six percent of the state's public school districts met or exceeded expectations, as did 87 percent of the individual schools it rated, according to the department press release.

Breaking down the local scores

Districts and schools receive scores from the department in four "priority areas": Student Achievement, District Growth (a measure of student improvement), Closing Gaps (between student groups in achievement and graduations) and On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness. Each area is weighted differently for each district and school by the department.

Absenteeism and dropout rates also are taken into account under "Student Engagement," with deductions for more than 13 percent and 6 percent respectively; no Kewaunee County schools were docked points.

For the most part, the biggest drop-offs between last year's and this year's scores appears in the "Closing Gaps" category for all three districts. Luxemburg-Casco's score in that category fell from 76.6 to 63, Kewaunee's from 83.5 to 76.3 and Algoma's from 67.7 to 59.6.

The Luxemburg-Casco district was given a score of 81.4 for "Student Achievement," well above the statewide average of 62.3. It scored 69.9 in growth (compared to the 66.0 state average), 63 in closing gaps (68.9 state) and 90.8 in readiness (84.8 state).

It continues a four-year run of four-star rankings for the district.

Also for a fourth straight year, Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School was rated as "Significantly Exceeds Expectations," with a score of 89.1 for 2018-19 (92.2 achievement, 95.4 growth, 76.1 closing gaps, 93.1 readiness). Just 318 of 2,434 public and private schools were scored in this category.

Luxemburg-Casco Middle School scored 73.7 (77.5 achievement, 53.7 growth, 65.5 closing gaps, 89.8 readiness), while the high school raised its score from 70.1 to 71.8 (70 achievement, 58.4 growth, 64.8 closing gaps, 94.6 readiness).

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The Kewaunee district scored 64.1 in achievement, 62.2 in growth, 76.3 in closing gaps and 89.7 in readiness. Overall scores ranged from last year's 75.1 to 79.8 in 2016-17 during the four straight "Exceeds Expectations" categorizations for the district. It was a "Meets Expectations" district in 2012-13 and 13-14, with scores of 68.1 and 67.9, respectively.

Kewaunee Elementary School was given a score of 77.7 (71.9 achievement, 77.4 growth, 70.3 closing gaps, 91.4 readiness). The middle school scored 74.7 (62.6, 58.4, 89.9, 88.1) and the high school raised its score from 61.9 to 67.5 (59.3, 57.5, 63.6, 96.6).

Algoma scored 63.3 in achievement, 57.5 in growth (compared to 67.9 in 2017-18), 59.6 in closing gaps and 84.8 in readiness. The district just missed hitting the "Exceeds Expectations" category for 2017-18 with its 72.8 score and had reached that category with scores of 76.2 and 73.6 the two years prior. Its scores in 2012-13 and 13-14 were in the "Meets Expectations" range, at 69.1 and 69.8.

Algoma Elementary recorded a 66.0 after a 71.3 in 2017-18 (60.2 achievement, 61.3 growth, 54.8 closing gaps, 87.3 readiness) and the high school scored 66.3 (65.6, 55.6, 62.6, 82.7) after 74.2 the year before.

FYI

To see DPI's report cards for all schools and districts and for more information, visit dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-741-7952, 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.