A staff member for Putnam County Schools told the school board at a workshop that the district’s 2024–25 district grade improved in 10 of 12 accountability components but still sits in the C range and will need about 50 more points to reach a B under new state thresholds.

The presenter said, “we improved in 10 of the 12 cells,” and noted the district earned “55% of total possible points” and “the highest C since the modern calculation began in 2015.” She said district English language arts achievement reached 48% (the highest since 2011) and math achievement reached 46% (the highest since 2014). Science tied 44%, and ELA learning gains rose to 55% while math learning gains rose to 53%.

The staff member emphasized the scale change that has affected Putnam’s progress: “in 2024, the state board of education affirmed in state board rule the new thresholds of being a 44 to become a C, a 57 to become a B, and then a 64 to become an A,” and added that a separate statutory “escalation clause” will raise thresholds again for school types that meet the state’s criteria.

Why it matters: the speaker said district- and school-level thresholds will rise because the escalation clause applies when 75% or more of graded schools in a school type earn As or Bs; Putnam’s presenter said high schools and combination schools met that threshold this year, so the district-grade target for 2026 will increase (the presenting staff member said the district now “has to get to 60,” an increase from prior targets and about 50 additional points from the district’s current total).

Board members asked detailed questions about cohort tracking, acceleration pathways and how the district measures longitudinal growth. The presenter described cohort analyses using FAST (K–10 ELA assessment) and explained that cohort numbers shift because student enrollment changes during the year: “we don’t always have the exact same students entering and leaving our district in the course of a year.” She also said Putnam has expanded acceleration options and dual-enrollment access, and that Cambridge (ACE Cambridge) courses make up a large portion of advanced coursework in the district.

On federal accountability, the presenter summarized designations under ESSA and how subgroup performance drives federal indexes: some Putnam schools have no federal designation, three schools are listed as ATSI (additional targeted support and improvement), and a group of schools is on the CSI (comprehensive support and improvement) list because a subgroup has underperformed for six years. She noted two schools missed CSI status by one point but remain on the list and that the district is focusing supports for persistently underperforming subgroups.

The presenter pointed to several areas the district believes are the most attainable for adding points: third-grade reading, middle-school acceleration, and college-and-career acceleration, and said improving achievement and targeted learning-gain interventions (especially for mathematics’ lowest 25%) are priorities.

Board discussion included concerns about poverty and stability in students’ home lives, and one board member referenced homelessness and “couch surfing” as complicating factors for academic progress. The presenter and other board members credited principals and school leaders with targeted interventions and named efforts to track and support students closest to proficiency.

The workshop ended without formal board action on accountability targets; the chair concluded, “Workshop will stand adjourned.”