| By Big Radio News Staff |

The School District of Janesville’s top administrator debriefs the school board on the state report cards released last month.

Superintendent Mark Holzman on Tuesday night gave board members the topline number that has been previously reported — a score of 55.7 for a rating of “meets few expectations.”

Holzman says in the coming years, the district needs a greater focus on student growth to bring up its overall report card score.

That’s because when the state calculates the final score, it gives growth more weight than student achievement based on the district’s percentage of students on free and reduced lunch.

Holzman says the students the district needs to target for improved growth are those in the fourth quartile of student achievement. Growth among those students have lagged the state average.

Holzman tells the board that individual schools have developed their own goals on this front, identified the students who are in the fourth quartile and are considering strategies on how to help those students.