Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Assessment Admissions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears public hearing on DPI waiver to use local Laude ranking for Wisconsin Guarantee
Summary
District administrators presented a waiver application to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to use the Waunakee Laude ranking system (rather than straight GPA) to identify top students for the Wisconsin Guarantee; the required public hearing was held and the curriculum committee later moved a resolution approving the system variance.
District administrators presented a DPI waiver application and held the required public hearing seeking permission to report Waunakee’s Laude rankings in lieu of a straight GPA rank for the Wisconsin Guarantee (sometimes described in the meeting as Act 95 / Wisconsin guarantee). The hearing noted the waiver would apply to the district’s current-year seniors.
Assistant/district staff explained the Laude system: it begins with a GPA threshold (3.0) and then awards additional Laude points for enrollment in high-rigor courses listed in the high school catalog. Administrators said the Laude ranking has been used locally for about 15 years, is transparent to students, and closely corresponds with traditional GPA rank in practice, though it is not a percentage-based ranking.
Administrators told the board the Wisconsin Guarantee requires schools to report a ranked list of top students (top 5% for UW–Madison preferred admission; top 10% for other four-year campuses). Under the waiver, the district would identify the top 5% using its Laude system. Administration estimated a typical class’s top 5% equates to roughly 17 students, and said the district historically sends substantially more students to UW–Madison than that threshold, so they did not expect a major change in admissions outcomes.
The meeting record shows the required public comment period was opened; no public speakers objected during the hearing. The curriculum committee subsequently moved a resolution described as approving a “system variance” related to this item; the motion passed at the committee and the full board approved the committee’s recommendation during the consent or committee-report portion of the meeting.
Provenance: administrators referenced the waiver application in the board packet and noted other districts have secured DPI approval for similar local ranking systems. The curriculum committee discussion and the subsequent committee motion to approve the variance are recorded in the meeting minutes and the transcript.
