District report card shows gains but board warns elementary schools and absenteeism still need work

District staff presented the Beloit School District’s 2024–25 report card during the Nov. 18 board meeting, describing steady multi-year improvement while flagging several areas that remain priorities for action.

TLE director Miss Morteck told the board the district’s overall categorical score rose to 55.8; she explained the state’s new reporting cut scores mean "meeting expectations ranges between 60 and 70.9," and noted that growth accounts for 45% of the district report-card calculation. She highlighted district demographics: 69.6% of students are classified as economically disadvantaged, 19.2% are students with disabilities and 18.3% are multilingual learners.

Morteck described gains across priority areas: achievement, growth, target-group outcomes and on-track-to-graduation metrics. She said growth scores have improved — citing movement from low percentiles in earlier years to higher growth percentiles this year — and that some traditionally underserved groups, including students with disabilities and Black/African American students, showed meaningful gains in ELA growth.

But presenters and board members emphasized unresolved issues. Morteck and board members said third-grade forward ELA proficiency dipped this year; she attributed the decline in part to testing overlap and technology issues during spring testing windows and to staff and principal turnover in some buildings. The district reported a 61% pass rate on a foundational universal screener in fall (foundational skills/fluency), but noted that the forward assessment evaluates comprehension and that fluency does not automatically translate to comprehension.

Board members called particular attention to elementary schools. Board member Fox said several elementary sites fell back and that growth rates there were "abysmal"; she urged targeted focus on those buildings. Other members and the interim superintendent noted staffing instability and vacancies — including multiple principals new to buildings this year — and tied staffing consistency to student outcomes.

Other detailed data presented included a 4‑year graduation rate increase from 79.5% to 82.9% (for the reporting period shown), a reported absenteeism rate of 38.1% in the 23–24 reporting window, and reported increases in pre-ACT and math growth measures at some grade levels. The presentation noted the state report-card calculations use a rolling average and that cut-score changes this year complicate simple year‑to‑year comparisons.

Board members asked about testing participation and the technology failure that affected a pre-ACT administration; staff said make-up testing was scheduled and that the fall pre-ACT window would not directly inform this report card. The board voted to extend the meeting by 30 minutes to continue discussion and business.

Next steps: The board and staff said they will review individual school performance, prioritize support for elementary schools with falling metrics, address staffing retention and examine assessment calendars and supports to reduce testing overlap and technology issues.

Quotes used in this article are drawn from the public meeting transcript.