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Whitnall presents spring ACT and PreACT results showing gains driven by writing scores
Summary
District staff told the school board that spring assessment results show an overall increase in ELA performance driven largely by higher student writing scores; leaders outlined next steps including continued fluency work, targeted interventions and a practice full-length ACT for juniors.
Whitnall School District leaders told the school board on a district update that spring ACT and PreACT results show measurable gains in English/language arts that staff attribute primarily to improved student writing scores.
The results matter because the ACT and preACT are the district's primary college-readiness measures and are used by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for benchmarking. District staff said the writing gains contributed substantially to the higher combined ELA average for the tested cohort and that the district will continue targeted interventions and practice testing to sustain growth.
Dana, a district assessment staff member, presented the data and cautioned that the figures were preliminary and unverified: "this is all unverified, unconfirmed, fresh from ACT data. This is not full academic year students," she said. The presentation compared spring results with fall preACT scores and historical five-year trends, noting a district composite ACT average increase and particular growth in writing. "Our average writing score this year was 7.6," Dana said, adding that the district's median writing score rose from a 6 last year to an 8 this year.
Charlie, a district staff member who spoke about trends over multiple years, said the district recorded a composite ACT average of 20.6 for the spring test cohort and that ELA growth outpaced math in part because writing is folded into the ELA composite: "the real thing that made the difference this year for ELA score was our students' writing scores." Presenters showed that English and reading averages remained roughly steady while the scaled writing contribution raised the combined ELA number.
Board members asked how retests factor into publicly reported scores. Dana said the presentation covered state testing in March and that district- and state-level reporting practices differ: "This is just our March state testing for ACT," she said, and noted that some reports that colleges receive can use students' best scores or superscoring depending on the institution.
For next steps, the district said it will maintain a K—-12 focus on writing, expand fluency practice across content areas and increase targeted intervention supports in both math and reading. Dana said the district will also administer a full-length practice ACT for juniors in the fall to provide baseline scores and guide goal setting. She also noted that ACT, the testing company, has announced future changes that could affect how the state administers or requires the test.
Board members praised the writing emphasis and the sustained cohort growth. The presenters said the district will report cleaned, verified figures after DPI releases its public report in the fall and will continue to monitor scoring and time-on-test patterns to refine instruction and supports.
The presentation was informational; no formal board action was taken.
