Notices & Reports

Luxemburg-Casco continues to be among top school districts in area, state

District receives Exceeds Expectations designation from DPI with high student achievement

The Luxemburg-Casco School District continued to be one of the highest-performing districts in Northeast Wisconsin and across the state based on the District Report Cards from 2024-25 released today by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).

The district received an overall score of 78.9 for an Exceeds Expectations designation from DPI. More than one-third of its students (36.7%) were deemed Advanced learners in Mathematics, while nearly one in five of L-C students (19.1%) were Advanced in English Language Arts (ELA). Over the past decade-plus (since 2013-14), there has been steady growth in those numbers, nearly tripling in Math (from 12.7%) and more than doubling in ELA (from 8.0%).

The L-C score of 85.4 in Achievement ranked the district among the top eight percent of Wisconsin districts. Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School remains as the district’s highest-performing school – ranking No. 41 in Wisconsin among 2,641 school buildings in the state.

“The standard of academic excellence that has made Luxemburg-Casco a ‘destination district’ in Northeast Wisconsin again was met by our students and teachers,” says District Superintendent Jo-Ellen Fairbanks, Ph.D. “It’s wonderful to see the Intermediate School remain as one of the highest-rated schools in Wisconsin. I am excited by the substantial academic gains made by the Middle School and High School. Schedule changes we implemented around ‘Spartan Time’ give students, especially those who are struggling, additional opportunity to seek help in the subject areas where it is needed, and it has shown up in test results.”

L-C’s overall accountability rating of 78.9 made Luxemburg-Casco one of 169 districts in Wisconsin to fall into the Exceeds Expectations category (among 421 Public School Districts). L-C ranked among the top 18% among state school districts, finishing 74th of 421 districts.

Luxemburg-Casco additionally ranked high among the 38 school districts of the Cooperative Educational Service Agency for Northeast Wisconsin (CESA 7). Its strong academic performance was spurred by four in five of L-C students (79.9%) being proficient and advanced in Math on the Forward Exam, fourth-highest within CESA 7 and 27.3 points higher than the state average. The district’s ELA score was 21.4 points higher than the state average. L-C has been among the top seven CESA 7 districts in Math and ELA each of the last six years that DPI reported test scores. Its highest Math ranking was second in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, while it was second in ELA in 2020-21.

Both L-C Middle School and High School showed marked gains in their overall scores, with the Middle School achieving an Exceeds Expectations designation from DPI for the first time since 2021-22. The Middle School’s overall score was 78.2, up 8.6 from 2023-24, while its Achievement score jumped 11.6 points from a year ago – to a historical high of 94.0 – putting it in the top 3 percent of Grade 6-8 schools in the state. The Middle School posted the highest possible Math Achievement score (100.0) and an ELA Achievement score of 87.9, 31.6 and 22.7 points above the state average, respectively.

Middle School student performance at the Advanced or Meeting level remained strong. More than four in five students (81.6%) were at one of the two upper levels in Math, and just under half of students (47.8%) tested at the Advanced level. In ELA, more than three in four (78.2%) were Advanced or Meeting.

The overall score of Luxemburg-Casco High School rose by 7.1 points over a year ago, to 65.2, and LCHS continued to Meet Expectations. Its Achievement score was 72.0, an increase of 5.3 over the prior year and placing it within the top 20 percent of Grade 9-12 schools in the state. The On-Track to Graduation score of LCHS was 88.7.

“We recognize that a portion of the increases at the Middle and High Schools is attributable to recent changes in standards by DPI,” says L-C Learning Services Director Mike Snowberry, “but the growth in their test scores goes beyond those formulaic adjustments. We now are seeing the strong educational foundation our students receive in the earlier grades show up in the district’s upper grades.”

Beyond its ranking as one of the top school buildings in the state of Wisconsin, Luxemburg-Casco Intermediate School again received a Significantly Exceeds Expectations designation from DPI, posting an overall score of 94.2, 1.1 points higher than last year. Its 92.0 Achievement score places it in the top 6 percent of K-5 schools in the state, including 100.0 in Math and 84.0 in ELA – 31.4 and 19.3 points higher than the state average, respectively.

Of the Intermediate School students, 80.9% were either Advanced or Meeting Expectations in Math – 27.1 points higher than the state average of 53.8%. Similarly, in ELA 72.1% of L-C pupils were Advanced or Met Expectations, which was 19.6 points ahead of the state average (52.5%).

There are no test scores within the DPI Report Cards issued for K4 through Grade 2. However, the high achievement level of Luxemburg-Casco Primary School is reflected in the district’s most recent third-grade reading scores (2024), which ranked in the top 11 percent of Wisconsin.

Snowberry takes great pride in the district’s ability and willingness to meet students’ goals, no matter their intended pathway. For college-bound students rigorous and dual-credit courses are available, and L-C’s average ACT score of 20.0 is above the state average. Career exploration is front and center for all students, and many earn substantial academic credits and work experience in their planned field.

The High School’s Work-Based Learning Curriculum remains one of the most robust in Wisconsin. It had 24.3% of students (157 total) participate in a work-based learning program – more than triple the state average of 8.0%. Additionally, nearly one in 10 L-C students (8.7%) earned at least one industry-recognized credential.

Accountability Report Cards report on the performance of all public schools and districts in Wisconsin. They include outcomes in four priority areas:

1. Achievement, which summarizes how a district’s students performed on state assessments, using a points-based proficiency system, resulting in a multi-year average of English Language Arts and Mathematics component scores
2. Growth, which measures year-to-year student progress on statewide tests, using a value-added model that seeks to control for circumstances beyond the influence of educators
3. Target Group Outcomes, which examines outcomes for students with the lowest test scores, informing improvement efforts resulting in positive change for learners who most need it and improved outcomes for all
4. On-Track to Graduation, which indicates successful progress by students toward completing their K-12 education

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) releases its Accountability Report Cards in the fall of most years, utilizing data from the past year. More information on the District and School Report Cards is available at https://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards. Student learning in Grades 3-8 is assessed through the Wisconsin Forward Exam. Student progress toward college and career readiness is measured in Grades 9-10 through the ACT® Aspire® Summative Assessments. Grade 11 students take the ACT® test, an entrance exam used by many colleges and universities to make admissions decisions, for the measurement of student learning.

Individual Report Cards:

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) releases its Accountability Report Cards in the fall of most years, utilizing data from the past year. More information on the District and School Report Cards is available at https://dpi.wi.gov/accountability/report-cards. Student learning in Grades 3-8 is assessed through the Wisconsin Forward Exam. Student progress toward college and career readiness is measured in Grades 9-10 through the ACT® Aspire® Summative Assessments. Grade 11 students take the ACT® test, an entrance exam used by many colleges and universities to make admissions decisions, for the measurement of student learning.