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District shows midyear gains in reading and math; staff caution on assessment limits
Summary
District presenters told the board that pre-K through grade 10 screening shows average growth of 4.85% in ELA and 9.22% in math from beginning to middle of the year, with notable subgroup gains and localized dips tied to assessment changes.
District officials presented a middle-of-year snapshot showing measurable gains in reading and mathematics across prekindergarten through grade 10, while flagging assessment-format changes that complicate some comparisons.
The curriculum team said the districtaverage growth from the beginning of the year to middle of year on the HMH adaptive growth measures was 4.85% in English language arts and 9.22% in mathematics. Officials highlighted subgroup improvement: special education students averaged 3.1% growth in ELA and 8% in math; multilingual learners averaged 7.7% growth in ELA and 12.1% in math; Black students posted 6.5% ELA growth and 10.6% math growth.
Officials emphasized the value of looking at both percentage changes and absolute counts because student populations shifted between tests. For example, presenters said some classes showed percentage declines but increases in the number of students meeting or exceeding benchmarks when total enrollment rose.
Presenters also singled out two technical issues that require attention. First, prekindergarten 3 (PreK3) reading showed a decline of roughly 15 students meeting or exceeding benchmark between the beginning and middle of year assessments; the curriculum team said the benchmark expectations increased in the middle-of-year administration and that the PreK3 assessment becomes more demanding as students age.
Second, first grade data drew particular scrutiny. Officials said a newly introduced foundational literacy assessment (FLA) used at the start of the year can stop testing early for children who do not pass early phonics items, producing artificially low beginning-of-year scores for some cohorts. The team said that change in testing protocol likely depressed first-grade BOY results and that they are exploring a different assessment next year.
School-level detail showed substantial gains at multiple schools. Examples cited at the meeting: Greco School gained 15 more first-graders meeting reading benchmarks and 19 more in math; McLeod recorded 10 more students passing in reading and 14 more in grade 5 reading; and JDMS had notable increases in grades 7 and 8, including a 20-student gain in grade 8 math. At the high-school level, some ninth- and tenth-grade classes saw large absolute student gains in geometry and ninth-grade reading.
Administrators credited a range of supports for the districtHMH results: a newly adopted HMH K-8 English-language-arts curriculum; "Tools of the Mind" in prekindergarten; two reading specialists servicing all first graders; targeted Title I and high-impact tutoring; the Algebra Project; tutor.com and discovery education resources; instructional coaching and grade-level common planning; and increased emphasis on mathematical discourse.
Board members asked for additional breakdowns, including the underlying student counts behind percentage changes and follow-up reporting on grade 1 assessment behavior. Presenters said they would provide more granular reports and explained data-suppression practices used to protect student privacy when subgroup counts are very small.
Ending
District leaders told the board the midyear measures show encouraging trends and pointed to targeted interventions for the next months. They cautioned that changing assessments and shifting group sizes mean educators must interpret percentages and raw counts together.
