Major findings
• RUSD has created a series of measureable grade-level goals to gauge its progress in achieving the district-wide vision. Of those goals, only in writing has the district surpassed its target for all students. There has been progress toward some of the other goals for some subgroups of students but, on the whole, large racial and socio-economic gaps in performance persist and entire grade levels are falling short in math and reading.
• The large and persistent achievement gaps are concerning because RUSD serves a lower income, less-educated population than most of its peers and the state as a whole. RUSD ranks first among peer districts in student poverty, as measured by free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. In addition, 54% of RUSD students belong to minority racial or ethnic groups, ranking RUSD first among the peer districts in terms of minority enrollment.
• Long-term trends in math and reading continue to cause concern, although the 72% of RUSD fourth graders proficient or advanced in reading in 2010-2011 is up slightly from 2009-10, as is the 76% of RUSD 8th graders proficient or advanced in reading. However, the 52% of 10th graders proficient or advanced reading is a slight decline over the previous year. Improvements in math scores were not seen in 2010-11 in 4th, 8th, or 10th grades.
• Some of the performance findings might be explained by the lower levels of student engagement in RUSD as compared to peer districts. In 2009-10, the attendance rate at RUSD was 93%, more than a full percentage below the state average. In addition, the habitual truancy rate increased for the third year in a row, and now stands at 15.5%. After a one-year decline in 2008-09, the trend for increased drop-outs from RUSD returned and now stands at 4.6%.
• Comparative performance findings are also explained by the district’s internal testing, which measures individual student performance growth. In no grade level did more than 54% of students meet their individual growth target in reading or math in 2010-11.
• The performance struggles manifest themselves in the high school completion rate, which declined slightly in 2009-2010, to 73%. The high school completion rate at RUSD has lagged behind the state average for the past five years.
• Finally, recent state legislative actions and the economic recession have major fiscal implications for the district, which is more dependent on state and federal aid than most of the peer districts. RUSD ranked below average among peer districts in per-pupil property tax revenue, ranking seventh. In 2010-11, RUSD ranked first among peer districts in per-pupil federal aid and second among peers in per-pupil state aid.
Click for full Public Policy Forum report:
http://www.publicpolicyforum.org/pdfs/2011RacineReport.pdf
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