Rock County School Districts – 2023-2024 DPI Scorecard Summary – Lowered Standards

January 22, 2025

January 2025

WHY DOES THE DPI SCORING MATTER?  

Like any successful business or individual, there needs to be some method to measure & compare performance and progress over time.  The WI Department of Public Instruction (DPI) provides the only method for parents and citizens to track the performance and progress of their school district over time, as well as compare to other school districts.  The DPI Scorecard is not a perfect tool to accomplish this objective, but it is the best available method today.  Since parents and taxpayers deserve to have this accountability, and since DPI believes this program is not effective to measure and compare performance and progress, then it is incumbent on DPI to develop and provide a better assessment program and to make it consistent from one year to the next.

The need for a viable and consistent assessment program also matters from the perspective of educational freedom, which refers to the ability of parent’s to select the best educational opportunity for their children. RCF recognizes that all children are unique, full of potential, and deserving of a high-quality education that meets their individual needs.  For someone to be truly free, they must receive a high-quality education which allows them to maximize their full potential in life.  

Additionally, financial freedom from a local perspective is largely driven and controlled by local taxation.  Most notably property taxes – School District, County and Municipality – are a significant annual expense for Rock County homeowners and indirectly, renters.  School districts are typically the highest portion of property taxes. Most people in Rock County know their property taxes are high, but few realize Rock County’s property taxes are higher than 95% of all counties in the US!  This is based on the percentage of median personal income, or people’s ability to pay (Source).

It should be noted that local district school boards and their school administrations (which report to the school board) are ultimately responsible for the academic results of students and the district, not the teachers.  School boards and their administrations frequently try to deflect accountability onto others (e.g. parents, students) or other things (e.g. funding, race, income level, etc.). Parents and citizens elect school board members to make sure children are equipped with an effective education which leads to greater educational freedom, and a brighter future for each and every student.

IMPORTANT:  SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN DPI STANDARDS & REPORTING IN 2023-2024 REPORT CARDS – LOWERED STANDARDS

For more information on these changes, you may reference an RCF Did You Know document from last October.  Click HERE to view the article.

Also, here are two recent local articles on these changes.

WHERE DOES THIS DATA COME FROM?

The WI Department of Public Instruction (DPI) annually releases their reports on all public school districts across WI.  The most recent data provided by DPI is from the 2023 – 2024 school year.  The data used to create this document was provided by DPI, and can be found here.

Click to see: HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT COMPARE? (‘23-’24 school year)

Key Takeaways:

  • Edgerton consistently ranks at or near the top of all school districts in Rock County, in terms of their Accountability Score and student proficiencies
  • Janesville and Beloit rank in the bottom 3% of school districts in the State, based upon Accountability Scores.
    • These two school districts teach approximately 60% of students in Rock County public schools.
    • HERE is a local article on Janesville Superintendent’s perspective on their 2023-2024 DPI scores.
    • HERE is an additional local article on the Janesville State report card.
  • There are 421 total WI school districts in the DPI reporting

Click to see: STUDENT PROFICIENCIES  

Key Takeaway:

  • Please note, Rock County proficiencies increased by 10.8 points (Math) and 8.3 points (ELA) in 2023-2024, versus 2022-2023
    • These increases are very likely due to the new lowered DPI standards, and not due to actual student proficiency improvements

Click to see: STUDENT COUNTS AND ADMIN/TEACHER RATIOS (2023-2024 school year)

Key Takeaway:

  • It is interesting to note the two top performing districts – Edgerton and Milton – have a higher student-to-teacher ratio (14) than the two bottom performing districts – Janesville and Beloit (11).
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