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Winter MAP data shows mixed gains; administrators flag high chronic absenteeism at elementary levels
Summary
District officials presented midyear MAP results showing pockets of growth, math intervention progress and ongoing literacy work, and raised alarm at chronic absenteeism — NES first/second-grade data showed nearly one-third chronically absent as of March 1 and an internal count suggested elevated rates across early grades.
District curriculum leaders presented winter MAP assessment results and demographic breakdowns on March 18, showing mixed growth across grades and schools, math intervention gains through targeted programs and a renewed focus on literacy materials — but they also spotlighted a high level of chronic absenteeism among younger students.
Mandy Barsley, director of curriculum for STEM, led the presentation. She described the district’s use of MAP to track growth percentiles and achievement percentiles between fall and winter. Barsley said the district wants fall-to-winter growth to reach about the 61st percentile as a target and noted pockets of progress: some grades showed higher-than-typical growth and math intervention data showed promising results in several grades after deploying Delta Math RTI and other supports.
Barsley and other administrators also described work on curriculum and professional development: pilots of literacy programs, scheduled professional development on math workshop and guided groups, use of Reveal and MAP data to personalize learning pathways, and efforts to implement 90-minute daily blocks of core instruction for ELA and math next year.
During the presentation Barsley raised attendance as a major concern. She said state SIMS reporting (which uses a March 1 snapshot) showed about 31.9% of NES first- and second-graders recorded as chronically absent as of March 1; using a broader district check (10+ absences as an internal proxy) she reported that 67 of 405 elementary students met that threshold — about 41% — and characterized absenteeism as a significant driver of learning gaps. Barsley said she used 10 or more absence days as an internal marker because the state’s threshold of roughly 0.9% of the school year (~18 days) is calculated differently and SIMS counts kindergarten differently.
She warned that chronic absenteeism forces teachers to reteach missed instruction, slows whole-class pacing and creates extra planning burdens. Barsley said district staff have been meeting families when absences exceed certain thresholds and are exploring community partnerships, summer recovery programming and clearer parent expectations as part of a multi-pronged response.
Committee discussion noted the statewide nature of chronic-absence issues and asked for a future, focused presentation on absenteeism solutions. Administrators said they will pursue further analysis linking MAP, ACCESS (EL testing), attendance and other indicators to target interventions and will involve community partners in follow-up work.
Administrators asked the committee to treat MAP as one benchmark among others; they highlighted that MAP is nationally normed and can differ from Massachusetts MCAS expectations. School leaders emphasized the results are a tool to target interventions rather than a final judgement about classroom practice.
