Janesville Board hears midyear data showing gains in early grades, mixed results at middle and high school levels

The Janesville School District Board of Education on Feb. 25 received a midyear update showing gains on several district assessments, growth in industry-recognized credentials and youth apprenticeship participation, and a small rise in overall attendance — amid continued concern about chronic absenteeism and uneven performance at some grade levels.

District leaders said winter screening data show “a trend up” in reading proficiency since 2022 and that math proficiency in grades 3 through 5 now exceeds state averages. Allison (district presenter) told the board, “we definitely saw a trend up in a year or 2 with our winter reading proficiency data and then we've seen even more of an increase, in this recent midyear data.” She said elementary grade levels are “all trending in the positive direction,” though some grades require additional focus.

Chris (district presenter) reviewed high-school aligned measures, including Mastery Prep (a practice tool aligned to the ACT). He said ninth-grade Mastery Prep math scores rose about 9 percent between a fall and a winter administration — “in real numbers, that's about 70 of our kids in the district got better” — and that tenth-grade scores rose roughly 6 percent. Eleventh-grade scores showed smaller gains. Chris said the district is aligning curriculum and assessment to address gaps and that the Mastery Prep results are one indicator of likely ACT performance.

Administrators also detailed growth in career and technical measures. Chris said industry-recognized credentials and technical diplomas have risen over four years and showed a “nice increase” in work-based learning generally. Youth apprenticeship participation grew from 33 students to about 70 students in the most recent year discussed; a board member commended Erin O'Leary and district staff for that increase.

Superintendent Holtzman highlighted attendance gains and the district's ongoing work on chronic absenteeism. He said a 1 percent increase in attendance translates to about 16,000 additional student days of attendance and noted chronic absenteeism remains a concern: the district reduced a prior measure of roughly 25 percent of students missing 17 or more days a year to about 22 percent, but “we're still talking about 1 in 5 kids misses more than 17 days of school.” Board members emphasized that chronic absenteeism affects the state report card and urged continued outreach and partnerships (including free transportation for grades 6–12) to improve attendance.

Presenters described classroom-level tools the district has expanded, including common unit assessments (used every 5–6 weeks) and coordinated curricula (Bridges/Wonders at elementary; district-wide unit alignment) as mechanisms that allow teachers to identify and reteach skills quickly. The district also reported broad professional development: about 95 percent of kindergarten-through-fifth-grade teachers have completed a 60-hour phonics-focused training the district calls AIM, extended beyond the state-required K–3 cohort to K–5 to address students who may still need earlier-grade instruction.

Board members asked about subgroup data and the state report card’s “target group” — the lowest-performing 25 percent of students, which counts double on the report card. Administrators said the district has “named and claim[ed] our target group” and is breaking data down to determine which students need tier 2 or tier 3 interventions, while noting some students in the target group do not have attendance problems and therefore require different instructional responses.

The update also covered extracurricular and engagement indicators. District leaders reported rising athletic participation and increases in industry credentials, and described efforts to connect students to postsecondary opportunities (examples cited include partnerships with Blackhawk Technical College and local employers). Board members repeatedly praised staff and building leaders for implementing multiple initiatives simultaneously.

The presentation was followed by board discussion that ranged from curriculum implementation timelines to the need for targeted supports for the district’s lowest-performing quartile. Administrators said additional detailed data and short-cycle review dashboards will be provided in coming months to guide continuous improvement.

The board did not take a formal vote on instructional changes at the meeting; the item was a data update and discussion.