PCSD, schools exceed expectations in state report card

PCSD, schools exceed expectations in state report card

One of the Pulaski Community School District’s seven schools received a five-star (significantly exceeds expectations) ranking while the six others earned four-star (exceeding expectations) rankings in the state Department of Public Instruction’s 2020-2021 School and District Report Cards.  The PCSD as a whole was deemed to exceed expectations.

The DPI creates a report card for every publicly funded school and district in the state, which were released today. They are ranked from five stars (significantly exceeds expectations) to one star (fails to meet expectations).  PCSD school results are as follows:

  • Receiving a five-star rating and significantly exceeding expectations was: Hillcrest elementary school.
  • Receiving four-star ratings and exceeding expectations were: The Pulaski Community School District, Pulaski High School, Pulaski Community Middle School, Fairview, Glenbrook, Lannoye, and Sunnyside elementary schools.

Report cards are intended to help schools and districts use performance data to target improvement efforts to ensure students are ready for their next educational step, including the next grade level, graduation, and college or careers.

The report cards measure:

  • Student achievement proficiency in reading and math on state assessments.
  • Student growth measured by year-to-year improvements in achievement.
  • Target group outcomes (NEW) using information for students with the lowest test scores during the previous testing year (the target group) to compare their current year performance versus the non-target group population.
  • On-track to graduation which shows how successfully students are achieving educational milestones that predict later success (attendance rates, graduation rates, etc.)

Besides the star ratings, schools are assigned a score from 0 to 100 that is not a “percent correct” measurement but a formula that combines the four priority areas.

Those scores are: Hillcrest Elementary, 85.6; Lannoye Elementary, 78.2; PHS, 74.1; Glenbrook Elementary, 73.6; Fairview Elementary, 73.2; PCMS, 72.8; and Sunnyside Elementary, 72.1.

PCSD had an overall score of 75.1 (Exceeds Expectations), which ranked the third highest in the Fox River Classic Conference. 

“Through hard work and dedication from both students and staff, PCSD is encouraged by their state report card scores across the district during a global pandemic,” said Supt. Allison Space.  “We realize this is only one measure of student achievement that is collected state-wide and we will continue to work with students, families and staff to ensure that any unfinished learning during these times is regained.”

The 2020-2021 report cards use data from a variety of sources, including information reported through WISEdash and three years of Forward testing as well as three years of ACT Plus Writing, ACT Aspire and Dynamic Learning Maps testing.  Please note that testing was cancelled for all but the ACT Plus Writing assessment in 2019-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Report cards can be found on the Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Accountability School and District Report Card webpage, http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards.