Westonka highlights strong rankings, notes achievement gaps and sets new literacy goal
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Summary
The district’s annual Comprehensive Achievements and Civic Readiness report highlighted high external rankings for several schools, kindergarten‑readiness screening results, modest movement on achievement‑gap measures, ACT prep progress and a new district measure for lifelong‑learning readiness; the board discussed subgroup reporting and program supports.
District leaders presented the annual Comprehensive Achievements and Civic Readiness report and highlighted both strong outcomes and persistent subgroup gaps.
The presenter opened with external rankings: two primary schools placed in the top 2% of Minnesota elementary schools in U.S. News & World Report analysis and the high school ranked in the top 10 among traditional public high schools in Minnesota. The report then reviewed the five state‑required goals the district measures.
On early‑childhood screening, staff said they screened 181 children and found 159 were ready for kindergarten (88%). The presenter noted the district identified 22 children with needs to address before school starts.
When discussing achievement gaps the presenter cited proficiency rates for 2024: the highest performing subgroup at roughly 76.5% versus 44.5% for students with special education services (a gap of about 32 points); the gap measured 31.9 points in 2025. The free and reduced‑price lunch subgroup was described as about 17–18% of the student population; district staff explained the subgroup is voluntary for families to report and that state reporting rules require districts to track and report the subgroup for planning purposes.
The report said the district met its college‑and‑career readiness goal, citing a 1.75‑point increase between the pre‑ACT and ACT (above the district goal of 1.5 points), and reported a 97.4% four‑year graduation rate for the Class of 2024. District staff also described new literacy measures and an approach to measure lifelong‑learning readiness using eighth and tenth‑grade reading results and the ACT reading benchmark; staff said reading interventionists and professional development were part of that work.
Board members asked about subgroup definitions, reporting incentives and whether free and reduced reporting had changed; presenters said reporting is voluntary for families, that state reporting requirements remain in place, and that staff continue outreach to families to ensure accurate counts. The district will submit the report to the state and post results on its website.