By Jalen Maki

Tomahawk Leader Co-Editor

TOMAHAWK –The School District of Tomahawk exceeded expectations set forth by the state on a 2018-2019 District Report Card generated by the Department of Public Instruction, according to a release from District Administrator Terry Reynolds. Tomahawk Elementary, Middle and High School each earned “Exceeds Expectations” ratings on the 2018-2019 School Report Card.

The DPI generates both School Report Cards and District Report Cards for every publicly-funded school and district in the state.

Four priority areas make up the foundation of the report card:

• Student Achievement proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics on the annual state assessments.
• School Growth measured by year-to-year progress in ELA and math achievement.
• Closing Gaps in performance between specific student groups (comparing English learners, low-income students, students with disabilities, and members of a racial or an ethnic group with their peers).
• On-Track and Postsecondary Readiness showing reliable predictors of how many students are on-track to graduate from high school and student readiness for post-high school success.

Schools and districts are also evaluated on their level of student engagement – chronic absenteeism rates and dropout rates – when applicable.

The scores will “help will help illuminate some of our successes and help to pinpoint areas of focus in our school/district,” Reynolds stated in the release, adding that the DPI stresses that the report cards are just one source of information about the District.

“We use a variety of formative and summative assessments each year to determine student progress and areas of focus,” he noted.

“We are again pleased with our ratings, but continue to be committed to attempting to improve our ratings each and every year,” Reynolds said. “These positive report card scores do not just happen. We are very fortunate to have a quality teaching and support staff working each day with our students, as well as our community, which is always very supportive of our schools.”

The public report cards can be found online at http://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards.