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Board accepts Result 3 monitoring report and discusses adding industry credentials to readiness indicator
Summary
The board accepted the monitoring report for Result 3 and approved the monitoring action. Members debated adding a new indicator that measures the prior year graduating class percentage who completed at least one of: work‑based learning, an industry‑recognized credential, dual credit, or passing an AP exam; they also discussed concerns about tracking ACT writing and digital prep engagement.
The De Forest Area School District Board accepted a monitoring report on Result 3 (post‑secondary readiness) and approved staff monitoring as presented. Presenters told the board that the report draws on four data sources — student engagement surveys (grades 7–12), growth mindset proficiencies, Forward/ACT writing scores and Academic & Career Planning (ACP) documentation for 8th and 10th graders — and that 11 of 12 indicators met benchmarks while the ACT writing indicator remained below the benchmark.
Staff described interventions to address the writing gap, including expanding use of Quill (an online writing tool), a district partnership with the Greater Madison Writing Project to support ninth grade ELA and professional development, and an ACT‑aligned prep course called Methodize available to juniors. The Academic & Career Planning coordinator, Emily Hendrix, said ParentSquare has helped share interactive lessons and preACT results with families and that TestNav provides a digital practice environment mirroring the test.
Board members questioned whether the ACT and Forward writing measures fully capture the policy’s intent to assess students’ ability to "discern and use information from a variety of sources." Several board members proposed replacing the current ACP‑documentation indicator with a new indicator that would measure the percentage of the prior year graduating class who completed at least one of the following: work‑based learning, an industry‑recognized credential, dual credit, or a passing AP exam. Staff characterized this proposed indicator as aligning to the "redefined ready" concept the district already reports and said they plan to bring a formal indicator change forward next year.
Members raised practical tracking questions: ParentSquare can show whether families opened communications and allowed staff to send confidential reports, and some online programs report how many students have logged in, but staff said they cannot always track the depth or duration of student engagement (for example, whether students used an online ACT prep tool for 10 minutes or 10 hours). The board requested additional board education and sample student artifacts to better understand what the tests and ACP tasks measure before finalizing any indicator change.
Formal actions recorded in the meeting minutes included motions to accept and to approve the monitoring report; both motions were seconded and passed by voice vote. The meeting also approved the consent agenda and the superintendent consent agenda before adjourning.
Next steps: staff will return with additional information and suggested indicators, and the board signaled interest in targeted board education on ACT/Forward writing measures and examples of student work that would meet the proposed indicator.
