District school leaders told the HOUSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT board that changes in state assessment requirements this year will alter how the district measures reading growth and that staff have set school-level growth targets while the state's new test is phased in.

Katie, a district staff member leading the elementary and middle school briefing, said the state now requires a new literacy screener for students in grades 4 through 8 who fall below grade level. Administrators plan to continue using FastBridge for many students but will administer the new test'named in presentations as Capti Read Basics/CACD Read Basics'to students identified as "some risk" or "high risk." Katie told the board the new test package can total about 80 minutes per student and staff plan to break testing into parts to avoid over-assessing children.

Shelly, who presented on the district's Summit program (online and on-site), told the board the site will focus on the highest-risk students and set a goal that at least 55 percent of identified high- and some-risk students demonstrate measurable growth on the chosen assessment from fall to spring.

At the high school level, administrators set a modest target to raise average FastBridge results by about 2 percent. The high school presentation also explained that not all cohorts will have comparable FastBridge data (for example, the district added eleventh-grade testing this year) and that staff will continue to refine measures.

Natasha, a high school administrator, told the board MNE High School is on a state improvement plan because the school's graduation rate for 2023'24 was 57.9 percent, below the state threshold of 67 percent. She said the state reviews a four-year average and the school's current average stands at 52.4 percent. Natasha outlined steps the campus is taking, including targeted intervention time and grant-funded interventionists, and tied literacy growth to broader goals of engagement, college- and career-readiness and improved graduation outcomes.

Administrators cautioned that this school year will be "odd" for comparisons because some students will take different assessments at different points, and they told the board they will report back as more results and state guidance arrive.