Oconomowoc Area School District - Awards & Recognitions

OASD Students Continue to Make Gains on State Assessments

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released results from the Wisconsin Student Assessment System exams given to students during the spring of 2024. The spring 2024 assessments included the Forward Exam, PreACT Secure, and ACT with writing. Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) students continue to demonstrate strong academic achievement.

OASD students made significant improvements on the Forward Exam, with these noteworthy accomplishments:

OASD students outperformed the state proficiency rates in ELA by 16.7%, in Reading by 13.5%, and in writing by 17.4%.
OASD students outperformed the state proficiency rates in Math by 23.2%.

OHS students also had success on the PreACT Secure exam, with these noteworthy accomplishments:

9th grade students who completed the PreACT Secure in 2022-23 had a 1.7 point increase in ELA scores and a 1.2 point increase in math scores when they took the PreACT Secure again in 2023-24 as 10th graders.
9th-grade students who took the PreACT Secure for the first time in 2023-24 outperformed the State in both ELA and math.

2023-24 Forward Exam Successes

2024 was the first year of the revised Forward Exam structure introduced by the DPI to better align with current academic standards. Changes to the Forward Exam included things like:

Adjustment to the performance level scoring criteria and the language used to identify each category. Performance level categories are now called developing, approaching, meeting, and advanced.
Math and ELA test content changes to better align with the current academic standards.
Changes to the ELA sections of the Forward Exam to include an expanded focus on reading.

Due to the Forward Exam updates in test content and scale, ELA and mathematics scale scores cannot be directly compared between 2024 and prior years. OASD students achieved improvements in both ELA and math scores for 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. With the changes in the Forward Exam, performance data will now be separated into two categories, 2019-2023 and 2024-beyond.

Chart Above: OASD students made improvements in Math achievement each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Chart Above: Due to the Forward Exam revisions, we cannot compare Math proficiency to previous years. However, we continue to see strong math achievement performance, especially when compared to the State.

Chart Above: OASD students made improvements in ELA achievement each year from 2017-18 to 2022-23.

Chart Above: Due to the Forward Exam revisions, we cannot compare ELA proficiency to previous years. The new assessment design allows us more information about the strong OASD student performance in reading and writing.

Through assessment data research, we have identified two pivotal learning checkpoints for students. The first checkpoint is 3rd-grade reading proficiency, which is a key indicator of future academic success and life skills success for students. As a result, 3rd-grade reading proficiency is an important key performance indicator in our recently updated strategic plan. Through our intentional focus on literacy, OASD 3rd-grade students have experienced a 13% increase in reading proficiency between 2017-18 and 2022-23.

The second checkpoint is 8th-grade math achievement which is a key indicator of student readiness for advanced math courses in high school, impacting future academic and career pathways. Through an intentional focus on student understanding of grade-level core math concepts, we have seen a 16% increase in math proficiency from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

While we cannot compare the 2023-24 Forward Exam results to previous years, OASD students outperformed the State in both 3rd-grade ELA proficiency and 8th-grade math proficiency. This gap further demonstrates the successes of our OASD students and staff who continue to perform in the top tier of school districts in Wisconsin.

Superintendent Dr. Mike Sereno celebrated the successes of our students and staff by saying, “While changes in scoring of the Forward Exam make it difficult to compare this year's results with previous years, we continue to see academic gains across a variety of metrics. We have maintained a steadfast commitment to providing strong instruction in early literacy, and we have seen this impact our student's academic achievement. Similarly, we continue to see strong mathematics achievement across our system.”

2023-24 ACT Results

All 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade students engage in the ACT suite of assessments annually as part of the state's assessment system. While we experienced a decline in our junior ACT scores, our freshmen and sophomores continue to experience strong results showing a positive trajectory for future scores. Like our K-8 schools, Oconomowoc High School strongly emphasizes literacy instruction across all content areas, exposing students to rigorous texts and experiences and providing instruction in various comprehension strategies.

2023-24 PreACT Secure Successes

9th and 10th graders took part in the second administration of the PreACT Secure exam which was introduced in 2022-23. When we look at the performance of specific grade levels from one year to the next, we see many successes.

Chart Above: 9th grade students who completed the PreACT Secure in 2022-23 had a 1.7 point increase in ELA scores and a 1.2 point increase in math scores when they took the PreACT Secure again in 2023-24 as 10th graders.

Chart Above: In addition to their performance increases from 9th to 10th grade, OHS 10th graders also outperformed the State in both ELA and math on the 2023-24 PreACT Secure.

Chart Above: 9th-grade students who took the PreACT Secure for the first time in 2023-24 outperformed the State in both ELA and math. These scores are a predictor of strong continued performance as students move throughout their school experience at the OASD.

“While the changes in the 2023-24 assessment design and scoring do not allow us to compare achievement performance to prior years, OASD continues to see high levels of achievement on the state Forward and DLM exams in both ELA and Math. This can be attributed to our committed and hardworking community of staff, students, and families,” said Director of Continuous Improvement and Assessment, Stephanie Calarco. “While this particular information limits us to the performance of students on “one test on one given day” it allows us to benchmark ourselves against districts statewide to shine a light on our successes as well as further inform our continuous improvement work,” she added.

Calarco went on to describe how assessment data is used, by saying, “We examine standardized assessment data in conjunction with the student learning outcomes that result from rigorous instruction and engaging learning experiences. All of this information provides a comprehensive picture of our students’ success and acquisition of the skills and attributes within our graduate profile, and career, college, and life readiness standards. The opportunities that OASD offers students truly speaks to our vision of being an unrivaled learning community,” she added.

About The Forward Exam & DLM

The Forward Exam is administered in different content areas based on a student’s age. Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) students took the following exams:

Grades 3-8: Forward Exams in reading and writing (English language arts), and mathematics
Grades 4 and 8: Additional Forward Exam in science
Grades 4, 8, and 10: Additional Forward Exam in social studies

The DLM or Dynamic Learning Maps assessment measures the academic progress of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in the subject areas of:

Grades 3-11: DLM in English language arts and mathematics
Grade 4 and 8-11: Additional DLM in science
Grades 4, 8, and 10: Additional DLM in social studies

About ACT

The ACT with writing consists of four multiple-choice tests in reading, math, English, and science; and an essay test that measures student writing skills. The ACT is completed by all Wisconsin high school students in grade 11 annually.

About Pre-ACT Secure

PreACT Secure is a summative assessment given to 9th and 10th grade students, that is aligned to the ACT and the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards. PreACT Secure measures what students have learned in the areas of English, Reading, Mathematics, and Science.

More Information

For more information on the OASD strategic plan, core values, strategic objectives, and graduate profile. Please visit the OASD Strategic Plan page.

Statewide school district assessment results can be found on the Wisconsin DPI data portal, WISEdash, at https://wisedash.dpi.wi.gov.

OASD Schools Continue to Increase Achievement on State Report Cards

For the third consecutive year, the Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) increased student achievement in both math and English language arts (ELA) as measured by the State Report Cards. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) released its new State Report Cards for the 2022-2023 school year this week and OASD students continued to outperform the state average achievement in math and ELA in addition to achieving a three-year high score in the same areas.

Of the continued achievement, OASD Superintendent Mike Sereno said, “As a community, we take great pride in our students' success, and we look forward to continuing to build upon the growth in student achievement we have seen in recent years.”

Chart showing achievement subject scores for last three years

OASD State Report Card Highlights:

All OASD schools achieved 4 or 5-star status.
OASD ranks among the top 8.4% of school districts in Wisconsin in achievement.
OASD ranks among the top 10% of school districts in “On-Track to Graduation” indicators; embedded within this component we saw a 2.3-point increase in 3rd-grade ELA achievement and a 4.4-point increase in 8th-grade math achievement.
Both OASD intermediate schools had an increase in the Achievement Priority Area and both ELA and Math achievement scores.
All five OASD elementary schools also had an increase in the Achievement Priority Area and both ELA and Math achievement scores.
Park Lawn Elementary School is one of the top ten highest-ranking schools in the state based on overall score.
Park Lawn Elementary School obtained a score of 100 in two priority areas: Growth and Target Group Outcomes.
Meadow View and Summit Elementary Schools both obtained a score of 100 for math achievement within the Achievement Priority Area.
Oconomowoc High School outperformed the state average on several postsecondary preparation measures:
- The number of students successfully completing at least one Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course.
- The number of students participating in dual enrollment experiences.
- The number of students earning industry-recognized credentials.
- The number of students participating in a work-based learning experience.

District and School Historic State Report Card Ranking

Chart showing all OASD school report card scores for six years

In addition to the district achievement gains, several OASD schools celebrated successes on their individual report cards. Park Lawn Elementary School achieved a growth score of 100.0 in two priority areas - Growth and Target Group Outcomes. Park Lawn Elementary School is also one of the top 10 highest-performing schools in Wisconsin.

Park Lawn Elementary School Principal, Jennifer Jones, celebrated the partnership between staff, students, and families as a contributing factor to the continued achievement at Park Lawn. Jones said, “Our Park Lawn academic team, alongside our students and families, learn from challenges, take risks, trust, and persist no matter what. Together we put our hearts, minds, and souls into all we do for our learners.”

Both Meadow View and Summit Elementary Schools also obtained a score of 100 for math achievement within the Achievement Priority Area.

OHS Outperforms State on Postsecondary Preparation Measures

The DPI began reporting postsecondary preparation on the 2020-21 report cards by measuring participation in advanced courses, dual enrollment courses, and work-based learning programs, along with earning industry-recognized credentials.

Oconomowoc High School has outperformed the state average on all four postsecondary preparation measures for the last three years.

Chart showing postsecondary preparation scores for 2021-22

The postsecondary preparation information appearing in the Report Card lags one year behind the rest of the Report Card data. In the 2021-22 school year, OHS experienced the highest level of postsecondary preparation success yet.

Oconomowoc High School Postsecondary Preparation, 2019-2022

OHS Coordinator of Career Programming, Kyla Stefan, explained these successes by saying, “As a district, we have worked really hard over the past few years to provide our students with opportunities to become Career Ready. We've increased our partnerships with area businesses, added new courses, and introduced learning experiences that help our students identify the pathway that's right for them. The data shown here is a great reflection of what sets our students apart from so many others, ultimately showcasing the hands-on experiences and certifications that provide them a competitive advantage in the workplace today.”

OASD Superintendent Mike Sereno concluded by saying, “Our success is a result of a community that provides strong support for our schools and staff that are committed to providing targeted and engaging learning experiences. It is exciting to see how the partnerships between families, schools, and our greater community can drive successful outcomes for students!”

Four charts showing different postsecondary preparation data

>> Click For The Full 2022-2023 Nature Hill Intermediate School Report Card

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Awards & Recognitions