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DPI Releases 2020-21 District Report Cards

As a learning community, the Wauwatosa School District maintains a commitment to continuous improvement. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) school report card is one resource we use to assess and reflect on our strengths and areas for improvement.

The DPI is required by state statute (Wis. Stat. 115.385) to generate a school report card and district report card for every publicly funded school and district in the state. The report cards are intended to help schools and districts use performance data to celebrate successes and improve their efforts to prepare students for the future. These public report cards can be found online at: http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards. I have also linked the Wauwatosa School District report card here. 


The current school report card is primarily based on last year’s performance during the 2020-21 school year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DPI encourages caution when interpreting scores and ratings on the 2020-21 report cards.

At the foundation of the report cards are four priority areas. Schools and districts receive a score for each priority area:

  • Achievement - proficiency in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics on the annual state assessments.
  • Growth - year-to-year progress in ELA and math achievement.
  • Target Group Outcomes - outcomes for students with the lowest test scores: the Target Group.
  • On-Track to Graduation - reliable predictors of how successfully students are progressing toward completing their K-12 education.

The priority area scores are aggregated into an overall accountability score, from 0 to 100. This score is displayed on the front page of the school and district report card. It is important to note that the 0 to 100 accountability score is not a “percent correct” measurement. Based on its score, a school or district receives one of five rating categories, from Fails to Meet Expectations to Significantly Exceeds Expectations, as well as corresponding one to five stars.


Here’s some key information from the Wauwatosa School District report card:


Points of Pride

  • Six (6) of our schools have achieved the level of Significantly Exceeds Expectations. 
  • We experienced an increase in the Closing Gaps portion of the report card. 
  • The district exceeded the state average in the On-Track to Graduation area. 


Areas for Improvement

  • The district has experienced a downward trend in overall ratings since 2017. 
  • The number of schools achieving the rating of Meets or Meets Few Expectations has increased from two (2) to three (3). 


These results help illustrate some of our successes and help pinpoint areas of focus in our district. But as DPI stresses, these report cards are just one source of information about our district. Additional resources that help explain the report cards can also be found at http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards.