L-C, Kewaunee school districts exceed, Algoma meets expectations in DPI report cards

MADISON - Kewaunee County school districts met or exceeded expectations in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's school report cards for 2017-2018, released Tuesday.

The Luxemburg-Casco and Kewaunee districts were scored in the four-star "Exceeds Expectations" category, with Luxemburg-Casco attaining an overall score of 82.4 out of 100 while Kewaunee scored 75.1.

A score between 73 and 82.9 was needed for this category, with 206 of the state's 422 public districts meeting that mark, according to the DPI. For the 2016-2017 school year, Luxemburg-Casco scored 80.7 while Kewaunee scored 79.8.

Algoma just missed joining that bracket with a score of 72.8, or three stars for "Meets Expectations" for school districts with scores between 63 and 72.9. In total, 152 districts were scored in that range. The district scored 76.2 last year.

The only category above "Exceeds Expectations" is "Significantly Exceeds Expectations," the five-star category which requires an overall score of 83 or more. Only 49 districts in the state reached that plateau. Fourteen districts fell into "Meets Few Expectations" (two stars) with scores from 53 to 62.9, and none were scored less than 53, or "Fails to Meet Expectations" (one star).

The DPI noted in its press release that 96.4 percent of the state's school districts met or exceeded expectations, as did 83.7 percent of the schools it rated. Last year, 44 districts received five stars, 190 four stars, 166 three stars and 20 earned two.

Breaking down the local scores

Luxemburg-Casco was given a score of 81.8 in Student Achievement, compared to the statewide score of 63. It scored 73.7 in District Growth (a measure of student improvement; the state score is 66), 76.6 in Closing Gaps (between student groups in achievement and graduations; 67.9 state) and 93 in On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness (85 state). Absenteeism and dropout rates also were taken into account under Student Engagement, although no Kewaunee County schools were docked points.

Leading the district was its Intermediate School, which "Significantly Exceeds Expectations" with a score of 88.4 (90.4 achievement, 84.12 growth, 82.3 closing gaps, 93.8 readiness). Just 327 of 2,395 schools were scored in this category.

Luxemburg-Casco Middle School scored 75.7 (75.4 achievement, 59.4 growth, 67.2 closing gaps, 93.5 readiness), while the high school scored 70.1 (66.9 achievement, N/A growth, 60.2 closing gaps, 96.5 readiness). 

The Kewaunee district scored 65.4 in Student Achievement, 63.2 in District Growth, 83.5 in Closing Gaps and 88.1 in On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness

Kewaunee Elementary School was given a score of 79 (71.1 achievement, 69.8 growth, 85.8 closing gaps, 89.4 readiness); the middle school scored 72.3 (64.3, 59.4, 76.1, 88.7) and the high school scored 61.9 (55.9, N/A, 51.8, 94.1), the lowest of all county schools.

Algoma scored 65.8 in Student Achievement, 67.9 in District Growth, 67.7 in Closing Gaps and 89.4 in On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness.

Algoma Elementary recorded a 71.3 (64.4 achievement, 67 growth, 64.8 closing gaps, 88.1 readiness) and the middle/high school scored 74.2 (67.4, 71.8, 67, 90.8).

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: L-C, Kewaunee school districts exceed, Algoma meets expectations in DPI report cards