April 2026 WISE Insights Newsletter

Tuesday, April 14, 2026 - 12:00 am

April 2026: Don’t be a Fool – Using Data is Cool!

Thank You for an Amazing WISEdata Conference!

Our 11th annual WISEdata Conference at the Chula Vista was an absolute success – all thanks to you! We had just over 500 fearless school and district staff brave the snowy roads to learn with us this year. We got great feedback on the ‘Seek and Find’ game this year and had so much fun drawing winners for the Community Closet donations and the gifts sponsored by our EdTech vendors!

We appreciate you attending the conference and those of you who took the time to complete our brief post-conference survey to let us know how we did. We make time to read every single response so that we know what to continue doing and how to make improvements for next year’s conference. The feedback form closed April 10, 2026. If you want to send us feedback but missed the deadline, feel free to send us your feedback through a WISE Help Ticket.

Session slide decks are available on the WISEdata Conference webpage if you want to review content from a session you attended or check out what was shared in a session at a time when you couldn’t make it.

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Data Quality Outreach: Prepping for the May Demographics Snapshot

A communication was sent to all LEAs on Monday, April 6, 2026, detailing the May Demographics Snapshot for public school districts and for Choice schools. Additionally, this spring the DPI Partner Support scheduled four, in-person, regional workshop training opportunities and a virtual workshop, to better assist you in preparing for the May Demographics Snapshot and year-end tasks. Training started on April 6th. Registration is still open for the one remaining in-person session on April 27 at CESA 1 in Pewaukee (Milwaukee) 12:00p.m.-4:00p.m.

Partner Support recorded the April 14th virtual session. The slide deck and the recording of this session will be posted on the WISE Training: Slides and Videos webpage after April 24th for your reference.

We hope you were able to one of these training sessions. If you couldn't, check out these other web resources you can use independently:

DPI uses the information captured in this snapshot for state and federal accountability purposes this year as well as in future years. The specific required reporting captured in the May Demographics Snapshot links student enrollments and student demographics to the following assessments: Forward, DLM, PreACT Secure, ACT, and ACCESS for ELLs.

These data, once validated and processed, will display in the WISEdash Public Portal and in WISEdash for Districts. We will inform you when this occurs in a future communication.

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Web & App Feature: Transitioning from WAMS to MyWisconsin ID

The state of Wisconsin and DPI are committed to providing secure access to systems. As part of this commitment, DPI (along with all other state agencies) is planning a significant upgrade to authentication systems, transitioning from the current Web Access Management Systems (WAMS) platform to the Wisconsin Department of Administration's new, state-of-the-art MyWisconsin ID system. WAMS will end on June 30, 2026.

If you have been logging in using Google, continue to do so. Or, if you typically use WAMS but have a Google enterprise account at your agency, we prefer you start using the Google Single Sign-on method.

Starting on July 1, 2026, if you have previously accessed DPI applications using a WAMS ID and you do not have a Google enterprise account at your school or district to sign in with Google, you will need a MyWisconsin ID. DPI highly recommends transitioning to signing in with Google or signing up for a MyWisconsin ID at your earliest convenience. Note, while you can sign up for a MyWisconsin ID right now, the login option will not be available until sometime in June.

MyWisconsin ID uses modern authentication that provides better functionality and security. Create a MyWisconsin ID by following the steps with screenshots on the webpage. The MyWisconsin ID is person-specific; it is not a facility or company ID. You may already have a MyWisconsin ID associated with your personal email address due to interactions with other state agencies. To access DPI applications, associate your MyWisconsin ID with your work email address.

If you already have a WAMS account with your district email address, use the same email address with your new sign-in method to retain your existing access and user roles for DPI applications. If your WAMS account used a different email address than your current school/district email address, then you can follow the steps on the WISEhome webpage to request access to the DPI applications you need in your current role.

Updates to the WISEhome login screen will keep you informed about the timeline of the changes, along with links to webpages with helpful content to support your login changes.

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WISEdash FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), Completion Status Dashboards

WISEdash FAFSA® (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

FAFSA application completion data for 12th grade students entering postsecondary in 2026-27 is now available in WISEdash for Districts. The dashboard is located under: Topics, Postsecondary, FAFSA Completion Status by Subgroup. For more information see WISEdash FAFSA About the Data page.

Please be aware: in order to view this data, your district must have signed a District FAFSA Data Sharing Agreement AND you must be a member of one of the two WISEdash FAFSA security roles (either 'FAFSA Access' or 'Economic FAFSA Access) granted through your District Security Administrator.

The U.S. Department of Education gives states limited access to student-level FAFSA application status data to designated staff who have a legitimate educational interest in the data shared in the agreement.

DPI encourages districts to grant school counselors and homeless liaisons the role of “Detail FAFSA Access” or “Economic FAFSA Access” in WISEdash for Districts so they can support students in completing and filing the FAFSA. You are required to complete the District FAFSA Data Sharing Agreements to access the data. This agreement only needs to be submitted once to DPI (i.e., it does not need to be resubmitted each year).

Early Literacy Screening Dashboard in WISEdash for Districts

What Early Reading Screeners Are Required for Act 20?

Wis. Stat §118.016 requires this data as part of 2023 Wisconsin Act 20. This statute also requires all kindergarten (KG)– 3rd grade students below the 25th percentile on early literacy screening be engaged in diagnostic reading assessment and have a personal reading plan.

A screener is a quick and accurate way to identify students who may need additional support.

WISEdash for Districts now includes a dashboard for early literacy screening data.

How Can I View Screener Data in WISEdash?

The dashboard is located under Dashboards, Topics, Assessment, Early Literacy Screening. The Early Literacy Screening dashboard displays the following features and functions:

The number of students below the 25th percentile on aimswebPlus, administered:
- for 4K students, in fall and spring
- for KG – 3rd grade students, in fall, mid-year, and spring
This data can be:
- disaggregated by sub-group
- sorted by cohort

You can also view data from these screenings in the student’s profile. The student profile includes scores from state-required subtests.

How Can I Use this Dashboard Data?

You can use screening data from aimswebPlus in combination with other data to understand individual student needs and inform small or large group instruction.
You can also use data from aimswebPlus in combination with other early literacy data to analyze literacy curriculum and instruction.
- NOTE: Because aimswebPlus has only been in use since mid-year 2024 – 2025, it is risky to draw programmatic conclusions with only a few data points.

Why Is Act 20 Data Only in WISEdash for Districts?

Wisconsin statute requires that DPI provide a report by November 30, annually, to the legislature. The report includes the number of students below the 25th percentile on early literacy screening. The public can view data from early literacy screening in that report. Therefore, there is no plan for an early literacy screening dashboard in WISEdash Public.

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