School and school district accountability report
Wis. Stat. § 115.385
in effect(1) Except as provided in sub. (6), annually by November 30, the department shall publish a school and school district accountability report that includes all of the following components:
(a) Multiple measures to determine a school’s performance or a school district’s improvement, including all of the following categorized by English language proficiency, disability, income level, and race or ethnicity:
1. Pupil achievement in reading and mathematics.
1m. Growth in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics, calculated using a value-added methodology.
3. Gap closure in pupil achievement in reading and mathematics and, when available, rates of graduation.
4. Rates of attendance or of high school graduation.
(b) An index system to identify a school’s level of performance and a school district’s level of improvement and to annually assign to each school and school district one of the following performance categories:
1. “Five stars out of 5 — Significantly Exceeds Expectations.”
2. “Four stars out of 5 — Exceeds Expectations.”
3. “Three stars out of 5 — Meets Expectations.”
4. “Two stars out of 5 — Meets Few Expectations.”
5. “One star out of 5 — Fails to Meet Expectations.”
(c) A qualitative definition for each of the 5 performance categories in par. (b).
(d) For a school district and for each high school in that school district, all of the following information:
1. The number and percentage of pupils participating in the program under s. 118.55.
2. The number and percentage of pupils participating in a youth apprenticeship under s. 106.13.
3. The number of community service hours provided by pupils.
4. The number of advanced placement courses offered to and the number of advanced placement credits earned by pupils.
5. The number of pupils earning industry-recognized credentials through a technical education program established by a school board as described in s. 118.33 (1) (g) 1. c.
6. Beginning with the accountability report published for the 2020-21 school year, the percentage of pupils participating in each of the following subjects in the state and in the school district or high school:
a. Music.
b. Dance.
c. Drama.
d. Visual arts.
(e) All of the following information derived from statistics reported under s. 118.124:
1. The total number of incidents per 100 pupils reported by the school or school district.
2. The average total number of incidents per 100 pupils reported statewide.
3. The total number of incidents listed under s. 118.124 (2) (a) 1., 2., 4., and 8. per 100 pupils reported by the school or school district.
4. The average total number of incidents listed under s. 118.124 (2) (a) 1., 2., 4., and 8. per 100 pupils reported statewide.
(f) Beginning with the accountability report published for the 2024-25 school year, for a school district other than a union high school district and for each school that offers grade 3 in that school district, the percentage of pupils reading at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.
(1g) For purposes of determining a school’s performance or a school district’s improvement under sub. (1) all of the following apply:
(c) The department shall consider the impact of poverty on pupil achievement and growth by adjusting the importance given to the measures under sub. (1) (a) 1. and 1m. based on the percentage of pupils in the school or school district who are economically disadvantaged. In this paragraph, an economically disadvantaged pupil is a pupil that satisfies either the income eligibility criteria for a free or reduced-price lunch under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1) or other measures of poverty, as determined by the department. Of the total weight the department allocates to the measures under sub. (1) (a) 1. and 1m. for the purpose of determining a school’s performance or a school district’s improvement, the department shall do as follows:
1. If 5 percent or less of the school or school district membership is comprised of economically disadvantaged pupils, weight the measure under sub. (1) (a) 1. at 90 percent and the measure under sub. (1) (a) 1m. at 10 percent.
2. If 65 percent or more of the school or school district membership is comprised of economically disadvantaged pupils, weight the measure under sub. (1) (a) 1. at 10 percent and the measure under sub. (1) (a) 1m. at 90 percent.
3. If the percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the school or school district membership is more than 5 percent but less than 65 percent, the department shall determine the weight of the measures under sub. (1) (a) 1m. as follows:
a. Divide 80 by 60.
b. Multiply the quotient determined under subd. 3. a. by the percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the school or school district membership.
c. Add 3.33 to the result under subd. 3. b.
4. If the percentage of economically disadvantaged pupils in the school or school district membership is more than 5 percent but less than 65 percent, the department shall determine the weight of the measures under sub. (1) (a) 1. by subtracting the weight given to the measures under sub. (1) (a) 1m. as determined under subd. 3. from 100.
(d) For purposes of measuring a school district’s improvement, the department may not include data derived from a virtual charter school that is considered to be located in the school district under s. 118.51 (18) if at least 50 percent of the pupils attending the virtual charter school are attending under s. 118.51.
(e) The department may not use information provided under sub. (1) (d) 6.
(f) For purposes of measuring a school district’s improvement, the department may not include data derived from any of the following facilities located in the school district if 50 percent or more of the total number of pupils residing at the facility during the relevant school year do not reside at the facility for the entire school term:
1. A juvenile detention facility, as defined in s. 938.02 (10r).
2. A secured residential care center for children and youth, as defined in s. 938.02 (15g).
3. A house of correction.
4. A county jail.
(g) The department may not consider the statistics reported by a school or school district under s. 118.124.
(2) Beginning with the accountability report published for the 2015-16 school year, the department shall include in its annual school accountability report under sub. (1) charter schools established under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x) and private schools participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23. The department shall use the same criteria to measure the performance of all schools included in the annual school accountability report.
(3) On an accountability report published for a private school participating in a program under s. 118.60 or 119.23, the department shall specify the percentage of pupils attending the private school under the program and comply with one of the following:
(a) For a private school that submits achievement data only for those pupils attending the private school under the program, assign to the private school a performance category derived from data about those pupils attending the private school under the program.
(b) For a private school that submits achievement data for those pupils attending the private school under s. 118.60 or 119.23 and achievement data for all other pupils attending the private school, assign to the private school a performance category derived from data about pupils attending the school under s. 118.60 or 119.23 and identify the performance category as the choice pupil performance category. The department shall also assign a 2nd performance category, derived from data about all pupils attending the private school including pupils attending the private school under s. 118.60 or 119.23, as the private school performance category.
(4) Annually, each public school, including a charter school, and each private school participating in a parental choice program under s. 118.60 or 119.23 shall provide a copy of the school’s accountability report to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled in or attending the school. Each school shall simultaneously provide to the parent or guardian of each pupil enrolled in the school a list of the educational options available to children who reside in the pupil’s resident school district, including public schools, private schools participating in a parental choice program, charter schools, virtual schools, full-time or part-time open enrollment in a nonresident school district, the youth apprenticeship program under s. 106.13, the early college credit program, and options for pupils enrolled in a home-based private educational program. A school that does not operate high school grades is not required to include an educational option that is offered only to high school pupils in a list of educational options provided under this subsection.
(5) Beginning in the 2017-18 school year and biennially thereafter, the appropriate standing committee of each house of the legislature shall conduct a review of school and school district accountability reports published under this section.
(6) The department shall not publish a school and school district accountability report under this section in the 2020-21 school year.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/115.385Fetched: 10/7/2026