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Education committee recommends new reading resources as staff warns state test scores fell again
Summary
The Quakertown Education Committee on Aug. 4 recommended board approval of two curriculum-resource changes and heard from staff that state testing and AP results have declined compared with last year.
The Quakertown Education Committee on Aug. 4 recommended that the full board approve two curriculum moves and heard a candid assessment from staff that recent state testing results were worse than last year.
Dr. Kelly Hoffman presented two resource changes. The district will not increase the curriculum budget but will replace previously planned workbooks with an alternate set already budgeted; Mrs. Kramer, director of teaching and learning, provided product details. Hoffman also proposed switching from Imagine Learning — which staff said costs roughly $150 per student and had been budgeted at about $90,000 — to Lexia for certain early-literacy and EL supports. Hoffman said the Lexia quote the committee saw that day included professional development (PD) costs and represented an estimated $45,000 savings compared with prior licensing plans.
Committee members voted by consensus to forward the resource recommendations to the full board for approval; Dr. Friedman and Mr. Kern voiced support. Hoffman said the Lexia PD aligned with district training goals and that starting with a one-year implementation was preferable before committing to a multi-year contract to secure deeper discounts.
In the same meeting, Hoffman and Superintendent Dr. Friedman said the district’s state test and AP scores had arrived and “they're not great,” with results worse than the prior year. Hoffman said the district would present a full analysis to the Education Committee in September. Staff identified several contributing issues: benchmark assessments that do not align well with state tests, persistent gaps in middle-school math foundational skills, and a need to strengthen the district’s MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports). Hoffman said the district had added coaching capacity and would pursue targeted interventions and PD to address the declines.
The committee asked staff for a full score presentation in September and approved sending the resource items to the full board for consideration.
