Antigo board highlights large gains on state report card, schedules data deep dive

The Unified School District of Antigo reported significant improvements on the state report card at its November board meeting, and trustees set a follow-up data session for Dec. 1 to review the metrics in depth.

Superintendent and curriculum staff told trustees that East Elementary rose by 5.3 points, North Elementary by 8.8 points and West Elementary by 10.9 points; the district’s middle school score increased by 8.6 points to 81.2, and Antigo High School rose one point to 59.3. The district’s overall ranking moved up among the state’s 420 districts, a gain trustees described as “exceptional.”

Curriculum leadership said the changes reflect state recalibration of cut scores and norming and emphasized those scores remain comparable across districts because all students take the same statewide assessments. Staff framed the report-card numbers as one important data point among several — including local aimsweb measures — and invited trustees and the public to a December 1 “data dig” to review state and local results and explain how the scores are calculated.

Trustees asked whether shifts in cut scores had watered down results; the curriculum director responded that the state has renormed assessments and that the district continues to use multiple measures to assess performance. Trustees commended administrators and teachers for the progress, noting the district had previously been near the bottom of state rankings and had climbed more than 100 places in recent years.

Board members said they will return on Dec. 1 to examine the report card’s components, how comparisons are made, and local implications for instruction and resource allocation. The board thanked building administrators and classroom staff for the work that produced the gains.