Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Formative Assessments Reading topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CFISD officials report reading gains for early grades; older grades show slower progress
Summary
District staff reported formative assessment data for Strategic Plan Goals 5 and 6, showing substantial reductions in early‑grade students scoring at the lowest levels and slower growth in fourth and fifth grades. Administration described targeted interventions and said a June cumulative report will follow.
CYPRESS, Texas — Cypress‑Fairbanks Independent School District administrators told trustees on Thursday that targeted reading interventions have reduced the number of first‑grade students at the lowest performance band, but progress is slower for fourth and fifth graders.
Doctor Gory (district administration) presented formative assessment data tied to Strategic Plan Goals 5 and 6. Goal 5 covers grades 1–3, with an objective that 90 percent of students meet the 50 percent Amira Reading Mastery (ARM) score by 2029. Goal 6 covers fourth and fifth grades and sets the same target for students who scored below approaches on STAR ELA/R.
Gory said the district has used targeted interventions — small‑group instruction, one‑on‑one time, Saturday camps and other tutoring — and that early‑grade interventions produced measurable progress. ‘‘Looking at the first grade chart… December, there were 971 students at 1 or 31%. At the time that this data was collected, we have reduced that to 142 students and 5%,’’ Gory said, referring to students who did not meet the RIT or were below approaches on STAR.
Board members asked clarifying questions. A trustee noted the slides represent only students who did not meet the STAR approaches benchmark and asked whether the presenter could supply fall‑to‑current comparisons across grades. Gory said a cumulative report for the full year will be provided in June.
The presentation noted that growth in reading is typically faster in primary grades and slower in fourth and fifth as instruction shifts from ‘‘learning to read’’ to ‘‘reading to learn,’’ which raises text complexity and slows measurable acceleration for students who remain behind. The administration said it will continue campus‑level and district supports and tracking, and trustees encouraged community volunteer tutoring programs to supplement school interventions.
There was no formal board action on the report; trustees asked for additional cumulative data and continued monitoring.
