FDL School District Looking at Ways to Improve Performance Report Card

The Fond du Lac School Board is reviewing the results of a recent report cards issued for the performance of the district. They took a look at the report during a meeting last night – and Superintendent Jim Sebert tells us there is definitely some work to be done. 

Sebert says  “they came out, quite honestly, not exactly where we would like. We dipped just a bit in the district report card – we had been at the ‘exceeds expectations’ level, there are five levels, ‘exceeds’ would be level four. We dipped into the three level – ‘meets expectations’ – but with that being said, we did have last year we had two schools that ‘meet few expectations’, we lowered that to one and that remains Fond du Lac High School. And Fond du Lac High School is progressing at a very nice pace – over the past three years their report card has gotten consistently better.”

But there are several factors that may have negatively impacted not only Fond du Lac High School, but others around the state. Sebert points out that ranking for high schools in the state is not a perfect picture.

He explains that “the biggest challenge in the high school report card is that right now there’s not a growth component, so it’s only based on their Wisconsin Forward results that they take as a tenth grade student. So within the other schools, you have the opportunity to see from third to fourth to fifth, how kids are growing – in the middle school from sixth to seventh to eighth. So the high school is a one snapshot picture.”

The report cards are likely to change in next year’s iteration – with several changes coming, including the growth factor in the high schools. 

Sebert tells us “next year they are working in a growth component, which is going to be good I think, so the report card will change again. They’re also – at the high school – working in a component that will look at AP course attainment, the number of kids you have taking those. They’ll be taking looks at things like community service and ways that kids are getting involved in different ways. And I think those will be very positive things that give Fond du Lac High School credit for the vast array of opportunities that they have.”

Several school districts around Fond du Lac County saw rankings of “exceeding expectations,” and the Oakfield School District even achieved the “significantly exceeding expectations” designation. For more information on the report cards for school districts around the area, click here.