New State Report Cards Offer a Look at Statewide High Schools

Schools will be graded on Reading and Math achievement,
closing the gaps on reading, math, and graduation rates, and
post-secondary readiness, focusing on graduation rates, and
participation in college entry exams.

First Impressions
 Wisconsin high schools look pretty good...right?  Only 17 of over 400 high schools "Fail to Meet Expectations".  Over 86% of all WI public high schools meet or exceed expectations.  Life is good...yes?

And it looks like a good plan to evaluate districts/schools on more than just test scores....right?

One think to keep in mind that 40 high schools received overall scores of "Not Rated" due to either suspected errors, or insufficient data.


Second Thoughts
Hold on just a sec....over 37% of high schools EXCEED expectations? Not that that isn't a good thing...but weren't we told to expect gloom and doom with the new evaluation system?

The plot of high schools vs. overall assessment seems  a little right slanted, wouldn't you say?  In the NFL, they call this a trips right formation.

What we find interesting, however, is that if you score the overall report card grades as a letter grade using standard grading conventions.  Things do not look so good.  The plot now becomes left leaning (trips left).

We still have a skewed set of data...and that bears some monitoring.  Which is it do you think? Trips left? Or trips right?  One will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling about the status of education isn Wisconsin.  Should we just go with that one, then?


Third Degree

Are we now grading on the curve?  Or have we merely lowered our expectations?  Hear us out here.  The maximum accountability score is 100%.  That sure looks like a standard grading chart.

But the new scoring rubric seems a little unappetizing.  A score of 63-72.9 yields an evaluation of "Meets Expectations"?  Really?  If your kid came home with a score of 63% on a test, would you say, "Ohhh...Johnny, you've met expectations, we're so proud of you!"?
Yeah...we didn't think so.

So have we just dumbed this all down to make us all feel better while districts are quietly told to clean up their acts?  Of course...what would be the incentive?  Hey...we met expectations...what more do you want?  Should we be concerned that only 4 high schools "significantly" meet expectations?

Perhaps this is some good watercooler conversation fodder.

Wisconsin Leads Midwest in AP College Credits

"Wisconsin's high school class of 2011 led the Midwest in the percent of students earning college credits in the Advanced Placement program, according to a news release Wednesday from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Of the state's graduates 19.4% achieved a score of three or higher on the exam. Illinois came in second among the 13 Midwest states with 18.5% of students earning a three or higher, the threshold for receiving college credits. Nationally, 18.1% of graduates scored a three or higher."
-- Wisconsin Journal-Sentinel online

The cost of taking an AP exam--for some subjects--is well worth it when it comes time to enter college.  If a student wisely chooses the AP courses s/he takes in high school, passing the AP exam with a score of 3 or better can be parlayed into college credits, shaving some costly time off their college tenure.

Alternatively, having these college credits can allow the student to expand his/her horizons and take many other college course offerings while staying on track for graduation in 4 years.

Finally, one often overlooked benefit of taking AP courses and exams for college credit is that the student starts off ahead of the average freshman.  In most college systems, course selection each semester is on a first come-first serve basis in descending order of college credits accumulated.  An incoming freshman can often be classified as a sophomore based on credits accumulated (via AP credits earned).  This distinction gives these students a better chance at getting into desirable courses or classes with favored instructors.

The one caveat to students is to be wary of AP exams for foreign languages.  It is very difficult, if not nearly impossible, to obtain a score of at least "3" (the minimum necessary to obtain college credit).  We don't want to discourage students from taking foreign language AP exams, but please be aware that you are competing against native speakers of the language.  That simple reality makes it a significant challenge. Ask your teachers for historical student performance on these exams first.

The bottom line is that taking  AP exams and scoring well on them can be very beneficial to you in college.