Pewaukee SD reports mixed Wisconsin Forward Assessment results; schools outline targeted literacy and math plans

Pewaukee School District administrators on Monday presented 2025 Wisconsin Forward Assessment results and described building‑level action plans to address uneven grade‑level performance.

The district ranked in the top 10% statewide for English language arts and in the top 8% in math for the percentage of students in the meeting or advanced categories, according to Candice, the district assessment lead. Candice cautioned that statewide benchmark and scoring changes to the Forward Exam in 2024 make direct year‑to‑year comparisons more complicated.

The report broke results out by subject and grade: ELA and math are tested in grades 3–8, science in grades 4 and 8, and social studies in grades 4, 8 and 10. Candice said grade 8 showed a notable increase in the share of students meeting or exceeding standards, while fourth grade showed declines in some measures and grades 4–6 showed decreases in math performance.

Superintendent Anthony and building principal Christy described how each school converted the assessment review into action steps. "Each of the buildings has a building goal focused on literacy," Anthony said, and principals are running biweekly professional learning communities (PLCs) "to get teams of teachers talking about teaching and, more importantly, is it having an impact on student learning?"

At Horizon School, administrators added phonics instruction this year for fourth and fifth graders to align with the district's response to Act 20, a state requirement referenced in the presentation. "We did not have a great resource for our fourth and fifth graders when it comes to phonics instruction. That is something that was implemented at Horizon starting this year for fourth and fifth graders specifically," Christy said.

Board members asked whether the fourth‑grade dip reflected a COVID‑era cohort effect. Christy noted two lockdowns that interrupted testing dates and said those disruptions coincided with fourth‑grade testing, which "may have affected results"; she said the district will continue monitoring that cohort.

For the middle school, administrators said they are deploying AIMSweb for progress monitoring, including silent and oral reading fluency probes. "AIMSweb prompts teachers to do a second testing that's an oral reading fluency," a middle‑school representative said, adding the district will pair that data with targeted professional development for staff who need elementary‑style decoding strategies.

District leaders also emphasized schoolwide approaches to literacy beyond ELA classwork. Anthony highlighted disciplinary literacy strategies in science and social studies and a vocabulary program led by a district staff member to reinforce academic vocabulary across subjects.

Why it matters: Assessment results guide resource allocation and instructional priorities. The board heard concrete steps the district is taking—phonics for upper elementary at Horizon, data retreats to set building goals, AIMSweb progress monitoring and PLCs—to address identified gaps.

What's next: Administrators said they will continue to monitor cohorts, report progress to the board, and use PLCs and MTSS processes to adjust instruction where data indicate a need.