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Somerset district outlines state-assessment changes, building goals after 2023'24 test redesign
Summary
District administrators told the board that Wisconsin revised test designs and cut scores for 2023'24; Somerset reported it remains above the state average in tested subjects and set building-level goals (elementary ELA target 65% by June 2025) while flagging gaps for students with disabilities.
Administrators updated the Somerset School District board on the Wisconsin State assessment changes implemented in 2023'24 and described how the alterations affect local reporting and targets.
The district said the Department of Public Instruction revised test formats and cut scores this year, reworking descriptors from labels such as "proficient" to language emphasizing growth and shifting to a four-digit scale score for ELA and math. Presenters warned that because the cut scores and test design changed, year'to'year ELA comparisons between 2023 and 2024 are not directly comparable.
Sarah, a district principal who presented the analysis, said Somerset's schools remain above the state average in all four tested areas and highlighted building goals. "We're proud to be above the state in all four of our tested areas," she said, and announced an elementary building goal to increase ELA meeting/advanced rates from 61% to 65% by June 2025 as measured by the Wisconsin Forward exam.
The presentation included technical changes: the ELA exam moved from four sections to three, removed a separate speaking/listening portion, and split reading into a distinct subscore; PreA Secure and ACT cut scores were reset and are Wisconsin-specific for accountability purposes. Administrators said only science and social studies maintain consistent cut scores that support limited longitudinal comparison.
District staff also described the MySAERS screener, administered to grades 4'12, noting a 97% participation rate this year and clarifying the instrument is a 19-question screener for academic, behavioral and emotional skills (not a diagnostic mental-health instrument). Staff said MySAERS and other local measures inform tiered interventions and building goals.
Administrators emphasized programmatic responses to subgroup gaps: students with disabilities trail other groups in meeting/advanced percentages, and those gaps will be a focus of targeted interventions, co-teaching approaches and PLC work.
Next steps include forwarding the data to the public agenda packet and presenting a fuller report-card analysis at a December work session when embargoed state report-card data are available.
