Gresham‑Barlow academic slide: district shows flat proficiency trends; leaders push literacy and math routines

GRESHAM, Ore. — District instructional leaders presented Aug. 21 end‑of‑year assessment data that show modest growth but persistent proficiency gaps in reading and math across grade levels and student groups. The presentation summarized elementary I‑Ready reading results and middle‑school STAR reading outcomes, showing that overall proficiency has been essentially flat over a three‑year span. Emerging multilingual learners (EMLs) and students receiving special education supports scored notably lower: in K–5 reading, 23% of EMLs tested at or above grade level compared with 56% of non‑EML students; for students with IEPs, 25% met grade‑level reading benchmarks compared with 53% of peers without IEPs. District leaders said the score gaps reflect a mix of longstanding factors and pandemic‑era disruptions and stressed that the results come from multiple instruments and are interpreted alongside classroom measures. To address the gaps, district staff proposed targeted steps: deeper implementation of foundational‑skills instruction at elementary grades; expanded classroom coaching (three additional literacy coaches funded by a state early‑literacy grant); district‑level literacy labs and school‑level professional learning focused on routines such as Talk‑Read‑Write and summarization; and co‑planning/co‑teaching models that pair classroom teachers with specialists in English‑language development and special education. On math, leaders said overall proficiency remains lower than for reading and described plans to use STAR data to inform instruction, expand “student discourse” or problem‑talk routines, run math labs, and strengthen PLC time to focus on conceptual understanding. Staff also proposed campaigns to give students ownership of adaptive assessments so students track their own growth. Leaders cautioned that some winter gains did not persist into spring and are continuing to study assessment fidelity and classroom practices; they said administrators are conducting walkthroughs and site coaching this fall to reinforce the routines described.