Second highest rank in state, second lowest score in county for district

By DAN BENSON

Ozaukee Press staff

The Northern Ozaukee School District exceeds expectations, according to state criteria, but scored lower than any other school system in Ozaukee County except one on 2021-22 school district report cards issued recently by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The district received an accountability score of 78, three points higher than the Port Washington-Saukville School District.

While that earned it the second highest state ranking — exceeds expectations — it was one of only two districts in the county not to earn the top rank of significantly exceeds expectations.

District and school report cards are not the only measure of academic achievement but it is one that drives school improvement plans.

In a letter to district staff and residents, NOSD Supt. Dave Karrels noted that the district’s report card shows improvement over previous years and that the district ranks higher than the majority of districts in the state, scoring in the 90th percentile or better in some categories.

For instance, Ozaukee High School’s  on-track to graduation score was the same or higher than 96.3% of high schools in the state

Karrels also noted that the scores are based on data from the 2021-22 school year, which was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of Wisconsin’s accountability system, DPI is required by law to issue report cards annually for every publicly funded school and district in the state.

The report cards include data for multiple years across four priority areas — achievement, growth, target group outcomes and on track to graduation — and are intended to provide an indication of how schools are performing and where improvement is needed.

Among individual schools, Ozaukee High School was the lowest scoring school in the district and the county, with a 69.6 overall score, ranking in the meet expectations category.

Ozaukee Middle School scored 83.4 overall, good for the highest significantly exceeds expectations rating, while Ozaukee Elementary School scored 82.2, exceeds expectations.

Elsewhere, the Random Lake School District scored 69.9, meets expectations.

Among individual schools, Random Lake High School scored 67.5, meets expectations; Random Lake Middle School scored 73.8, exceeds expectations; and Random Lake Elementary School scored 68.6, meets expectations.