Curriculum committee backs district request to use laude honors instead of straight GPA for Wisconsin Guarantee ranking

The Waunakee Community School District Curriculum Committee on Feb. 24 voted to endorse sending a waiver application to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction asking that the district’s laude (honors) ranking be used instead of straight grade-point average when reporting top students under the state’s Wisconsin Guarantee program.

Committee members were asked to approve forwarding the waiver to the full school board and to hold the formal public hearing that DPI requires before submission. The committee’s motion to endorse the waiver passed with no opposing recorded comments and the item will next be scheduled for the full-board hearing.

The Wisconsin Guarantee, a state statutory program that takes effect for the current senior class cohort when ranks are reported at the conclusion of junior year, requires high schools to submit rank lists that identify the top 5 percent (for some UW campuses the top 5) and top 10 percent of the class by straight GPA for preferred admission consideration at University of Wisconsin four-year campuses. District staff told the committee that the guarantee does not assure automatic admission and that applicants must still meet program-specific requirements (for example, minimum mathematics coursework) and apply through the early-action timeline specified by the universities.

District curriculum staff explained that Waunakee has long used a laude/honors ranking system for local honors recognition and that the proposed waiver would allow the district to submit that laude-based rank to DPI instead of GPA. Staff said the district modeled its waiver on a similar application from Milton School District and that DPI has been processing comparable waiver requests expeditiously. Staff noted the district previously submitted its senior rankings by GPA last summer for the current graduating class and that the waiver, if approved in time, would apply when the district submits ranks for this coming summer at the conclusion of the current juniors’ junior year.

Committee discussion covered timing and disclosure. A committee member asked whether the change would apply to this year’s seniors; staff clarified the waiver could not alter ranks already submitted for the current seniors and would apply only once the hearing process and DPI approval are complete. Staff also pointed committee members to the high school handbook (pages 19–20) for a written description of the district’s laude/honors criteria.

The committee endorsed forwarding the waiver to the full board and directed staff to schedule the required hearing; if the full board approves, staff will submit the waiver to DPI for final consideration.