Plainfield 202 high‑school leaders cite preACT work, new math practices and AP access gains

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 curriculum and technology committee heard a presentation Sept. 17 from high‑school leaders and district staff on preACT cohort tracking, classroom changes aimed at increasing math proficiency, and continued expansion of Advanced Placement access. The district reported fall and spring pretest tracking for 2024 ninth‑ and tenth‑graders, work to validate new algebra‑skills and geometry‑skills support courses, and plans for districtwide ACT‑prep classes in second semester. "The preACT readiness benchmarks are directly linked to the ACT college readiness benchmarks," said Dr. Kate Morris, who led the presentation, explaining why the district is using fall preACT scores as new baselines for growth given recent cut‑score changes.

Why this matters: the preACT and ACT remain the district’s primary college‑readiness measures, and the committee was shown how curriculum, assessment and dedicated collaborative teacher time will be used to narrow gaps. The presentation also highlighted strategies intended to improve classroom engagement in math — labeled "building thinking classrooms and mathematics" — and the district’s continued emphasis on formative assessment, item‑level ACT analysis and professional learning communities that share data across schools.

District leaders told the committee they have fully staffed professional development for math teachers across all four high schools and the Academy and are testing classroom strategies that move students away from teacher‑fronted lessons toward collaborative tasks, visible student work and frequent feedback. Morris said the district is running new algebra‑skills and geometry‑skills classes alongside Algebra I and Geometry; 137 students were reported enrolled across the four high schools in the algebra skills class during initial roll‑out. She said the Renaissance learning approach used in those classes emphasizes mastery of targeted skills and does not replace core Algebra I coursework.

On instructional time and supports, leaders described the expanded eighth‑period (A‑period) day, which provides 90 minutes of collaborative time for teachers and additional supported study periods (SSPs) where students may scan in for targeted help. Morris reported roughly 500 student check‑ins for math support and about 150 for English through SSP scanning so far this year and said the district is building validation tools to test whether SSP participation correlates with improved outcomes. "If you have for the first time a math SSP available at your school and the average on the outcome... goes up 5% and you have 40% of your kids utilizing that support time, my guess is that has something to do with it," Morris said, while cautioning the district cannot claim 100% causation without multi‑year tracking and matched student‑level analysis.

The presentation also reviewed AP testing trends. Morris said the district’s number of AP test takers and the share of exams scoring 3 or higher increased from 2021 to 2025, and she showed a comparison of overall district demographics with the demographics of students taking AP exams to demonstrate growing equity in access. She cautioned that AP and dual‑credit pathways serve different purposes for students: AP scores are portable subject to college review and a qualifying exam score, while many dual‑credit courses transfer as college credit but practices vary by college and department. "Our counselors and AP teachers coach families to contact the admissions or department offices at a student’s target colleges to find out what credits they will accept," Morris said.

Committee members pressed on next steps: the district will validate new and revised courses over the coming year using teacher, student and community surveys, enrollment and retention data, and alignment checks to state and workforce standards. District staff said they will report validation progress back to the committee midyear and continue to refine use of the A‑period and SSPs to target at‑risk freshmen and other groups.