Understanding Data about School-Supported Activities

Cautions | Definitions | Calculating Rates | Sources of Data | Using WINSS

Cautions

• The focus is on counting and comparing offerings at the school level so school level reports may be more useful than district or state reports. Districtwide and statewide data provide information about the number of different offerings at a typical school in the district or state. Activities offered may vary widely across schools even in the same district due to differences in size, mission, and other factors.
• Counts of community activities should be compared with caution. These counts do not reflect the nature and breadth of each counted community activity, and similar community activities may not counted in a standardized way across schools. Many community activities take place in the classroom and are not offered school-wide. Certain school extracurricular activities may contribute to the community, but schools count them as extracurricular offerings and not community offerings. Some related community activities are likely to be counted as separate activities in one school and a single activity in another.
• Where educational services are provided often affects the range of activities available to specific students groups. For example, while most students are educated within school buildings, many students are served off-school grounds or in nontraditional settings, such as libraries, hospitals, residential care centers, county corrections, community-based organizations, etc. Some locations may limit the nature and scope of activities offered and participation rates. Where schools or districts serve significant numbers of students at nontraditional locations, participation rates may not be comparable to rates for other schools or districts.
• Note that counts of students participating in school-supported activities are for the entire school year, but enrollment counts are as of a date in fall of that year. For this reason, participation rates (participants divided by enrollees) should be considered estimates. Also note that it is possible for a reported participation rate in a specific activity category to exceed 100% due to student mobility during the school year especially in schools where true participation rates are high.

What types of school-supported activities are covered by these reports?

Two types of school-supported activities are covered: extra-/co-curricular activities and school-sponsored community activities.

What are "extra-/co-curricular activities?"

Extra-/co-curricular activities are school-sanctioned activities intended to broaden, develop, and enhance a student's school experience in the areas of academics, athletics, and music. Participation is not required and the group or event is not offered for credit or grade. In general, the Wisconsin Uniform Financial Accounting Requirements (WUFAR) describes co-curricular activities as "instructional activities under the guidance and supervision of school staff designed to provide students such experiences as motivation, enjoyment, and improvement of skills. (They) supplement regular instructional activities and include... band, chorus, speech and debate, (and) athletics"(see Function 160000).

Extra-/co-curricular activities are reported in one of three categories: academic, athletic, and music. As an example, football should be counted as one athletic activity, even if it is offered in more than one grade. Extra-/co-curricular activities are reported for grades 6 through 12 at the school level.

What are "school-sponsored community activities?"

School-Sponsored Community Activities are school-sponsored and supervised activities which emphasize service to and involvement with the community. These activities may take place off of school grounds or may happen in the school. Community service activities may be carried out as school-wide events, separately organized programs, or projects conducted by school-sponsored clubs (e.g. Girls/Boys Club, National Honor Society). Examples of service activities could include cleaning up a local park, visiting the elderly, or collecting and distributing food to those in need.

Activities could also include service-learning community service that integrates classroom instruction with service activities. Service learning is different from other community service because it must:

• Be organized in relation to an academic course or curriculum;
• Have clearly stated learning objectives;
• Address real community needs in a sustained manner over a period of time; and
• Assist students in drawing lessons from the service through regularly scheduled, organized reflection or critical analysis activities, such as classroom discussions, presentations, or directed writing.

Example of service-learning: Students in a high school science class studying the environment help preserve the natural habitat of animals living at a local lake. Through classroom studies, the students learn about the environment. The students keep the area around the lake clean, post signs providing information to the public, and study soil and water composition as well as the impact of industrial development on wildlife. Throughout the project, students write about their experiences in journals and participate in class discussions about the project and its effect on their lives and the local community.

School-sponsored community activities are reported in two categories: voluntary and required. Activities are considered voluntary if participation is not required and no grade or credit toward graduation is given, even if it is part of a regular curriculum offering (most often associated with extra-/co-curricular groups). Districts count activities as required if participation is required and a grade or credit toward graduation is given as part of a regular curriculum offering. School-Sponsored Community Activities are reported for grades 9 through 12 at the school level.

How are participation rates calculated?

Participation rate is the unduplicated count of students participating in each activity category divided by the total enrollment in the relevant grades. Extra-/co-curricular activities are reported in one of three categories, academic, athletic, and music, and are reported for grades 6 through 12. School-sponsored community activities are reported in two categories: voluntary and required, and are reported for grades 9 through 12.

An individual student is counted only once in each activity category no matter how many groups or activities he/she participatea in. For example, a student who participates in football, basketball, and golf is counted only once in the athletic extra-/co-curricular activity column.

How is "Offerings Per School (Average)" calculated?

"Offerings Per School (Average)" appears only on districtwide and statewide reports. It is the sum of number of offerings across all schools in the district (or state), divided by the number of schools in the district (or state) that enroll students in the grade range covered by the report. For extra/co-curricular activities reports, the grade range is 6-12. For community activities reports the grade range is 9-12.

Consider, for example, a district that has three schools enrolling students in grades 6-12. If School A offers football and basketball, School B offers basketball and swimming, and the School C offers soccer and wrestling, then athletic "Offerings Per School (Average)" for the district would be 2. Averages are provided at the district and state levels to provide the public with some information about what is offered by the typical school in the district or state.

Where do the data come from?

Data about school-supported activities (counts of offerings and participants) are collected as part of the School Performance Report aggregate collection. Beginning with 2004-05, grade-level enrollment counts are based on data collected by the Individual Student Enrollment System. Prior to 2004-05, enrollment counts are based on the PI 1290 Fall Enrollment Collection. See cautions about 2004-05 enrollment counts.

Where can I get more information about using data on WINSS?

For more information about the WINSS Data Analysis Section, see Data Analysis Section - Frequently Asked Questions and/or Tips for First-time Users of the Data Analysis Section.

Information about school-supported activities are publicly reported annually as part of the School Performance Report (SPR). WINSS is one way local and state information are disseminated.

See the Data Errata page for corrections submitted by school districts after final publication of WINSS and other reports.

Questions or comments regarding the School Performance Report should be directed to the SPR Coordinator, 608-267-3166.

For questions about this information, contact dpistats@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-3166

Last updated on 12/16/2011 8:44:34 AM