You are here

February 28, 2025

Friday, February 28, 2025
EdLeaders Dispatch Logo

 

WISEdash Public Release Planned for March 6, 2025 

The WISEdash Public Portal will be updated with certified data from both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years on Thursday, March 6, 2025.

These updates are possible thanks to significant efforts by you and your colleagues to provide accurate data to the DPI through the WISEdata December Student Snapshot. Thank you for all your efforts. You will find a list of new data and dashboards on the WISEdash Public Portal landing page on the day of the release.

The WISEdash Public Portal will be updated with these data and dashboards:

  • Enrollment (2024-25)
  • October 1 Child Count (2024-25)
  • Digital Opportunity (2024-25) -- previously Digital Equity
  • Graduation Rate (2023-24) (HS Completion)
  • Attendance (with absenteeism graphs) (2023-24)
  • Dropout Rate (2023-24)
  • Discipline (2023-24)
  • AP Exams (2023-24)
  • ACT Graduates (2023-24)
  • Graduation Requirements (2024-25) (HS Completion)
  • Career and Technical Education (2023-24)
  • ESSA School-Level Expenditure data (2023-24)

For questions about the WISEdash Public Portal, please open a Help Ticket. These About the Data and FAQ pages are also a great way to learn more about data in WISEdash.

Spring 2025 Statewide Assessments

Test windows for the Wisconsin Student Assessment System will open soon. These assessments are required by state and federal law. Participation of all enrolled students ensures the validity of test results used for state and federal accountability determinations, public reporting, and continuous improvement.

Statewide assessments include:

  • Forward Exam for students in grades 3-8, and 10
  • Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities in grades 3-11
  • PreACT Secure for students in grades 9 and 10
  • ACT with writing for 11th grade students

Please work with your principals, district assessment coordinators (DACs), and other staff to plan for successful test administrations by:

  • Scheduling time for make-up assessments to ensure completion within the windows.
  • Planning your testing schedule around local cultural events, holidays, and activities to allow students to do their best.
  • Regularly monitoring test participation within each assessment’s administrative platform to ensure greater than 95 percent participation for all students and student groups.
  • Working with your virtual schools to ensure they are testing all students enrolled in tested grades.

We have worked with the Forward Exam testing vendor, DRC, to provide results to districts before the end of the school year. The Forward Exam Individual Student Reports (ISRs) and Summary Data Dashboards will be available electronically in the DRC INSIGHT Portal on May 27. The results will allow districts and schools to view trend and year-to-year comparable data, including a separate reading score. Hard copies of the Forward Exam ISRs will be sent to districts on June 17.

Visit the Assessment in Wisconsin website for testing dates, information on each assessment, and resources including brochures for families and parent letter templates. Please direct assessment related questions to osamail@dpi.wi.gov and accountability questions to oeamail@dpi.wi.gov.

Act 20 Updates

Thank you for your continued efforts to strengthen early literacy, including your attention to meeting and exceeding the requirements of Act 20.

Here are some important updates:

  • By July 15, annually, districts and independent charter schools must submit specific data about screening, diagnostic assessment, and personal reading plans. The DPI must compile the data for an annual report, due to the legislature by November 30. Visit our Wisconsin Reads webpage for more information about preparing to meet reporting requirements. In early May, district administrators and district assessment coordinators will receive access to an application in WISEsecure to submit local information.
  • The application for partial curriculum grant reimbursement and related guidance are available on our Early Literacy Curriculum webpage. Completing the application is not a guarantee of reimbursement.
  • The $49 million as part of Act 20 for partial curriculum reimbursement grants, early literacy coaches, and professional development training has not yet been made available by the Joint Committee on Finance. State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly has said, “This delay is an outright betrayal of our students and a failure of leadership. Legislative leaders have let down both our children and our schools. I don’t want to hear another elected official complaining about literacy outcomes — they have no one to blame but themselves.”

Access 2023-24 ESSA/IDEA Reports in SAFE for Continuous Improvement

Yesterday, you received an email indicating that preliminary joint federal notification (JFN) packets are now available in Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE). Packets contain identifications under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and can inform your continuous improvement efforts. We encourage you to review the ESSA reports alongside the IDEA reports to provide a more well-rounded picture of student outcomes.

You can find your new reports in SAFE by clicking on 2023-24 under Joint Federal Notification Packet (ESSA/IDEA). If you need access to SAFE, please submit a request through WISEsecure via WISEhome.

If you need help accessing the system, please visit the SAFE webpage or complete a WISE Help Ticket.

New Resources to Support School Districts and Independent Charter Schools in Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System State Model

The Licensing, Educator Advancement and Development (LEAD) team is showcasing new and updated resources to support school districts and independent charter schools in the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System state model in the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

Background

In August, 2024 the LEAD Team announced that the DPI would no longer contract with Frontline Education to provide its employee evaluation management platform to schools and districts using the state model of Educator Effectiveness (EE). Instead, the DPI would build out free resources for state model schools and districts while returning the cost savings to districts through the annual Educator Effectiveness Grant.

Many schools and districts using the state model already utilize the DPI’s free resources for managing EE or locally developed tools, and districts generally expressed a lack of satisfaction with Frontline Education. The DPI has been developing resources and communications for state model schools and districts to support their decision-making in advance of this transition.

Continue reading: Resources: Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System State Model