Superintendent: early school-year KPIs show reading growth; district will compare MAP and NJSLA results over summer

Dr. McDowell, the district superintendent, told the board that the district met most of the internal Key Progress Indicator goals it set in the fall and that the earliest available progress measures show meaningful reading gains this year. She said two KPI items remain pending because the state standardized testing (NJSLA) results have not yet been released. The district''s current internal data snapshot is based on assessments completed the week before the meeting.

The superintendent summarized three columns of the KPI report shown to the board: last year''s outcomes, the internal goals set for this year based on that historic data, and the current status. Using the district''s K–5 universal screener (DIBELS), she reported a schoolwide increase from 62% last year to about 69% this year, a seven percentage-point gain on that measure, and said in many other indicators the district exceeded the internal goals or came close.

Dr. McDowell cautioned that the current results are not a guarantee of how students will perform on the NJSLA (New Jersey Student Learning Assessments) when those results are released and noted the state''s data are embargoed on release; district staff must first analyze them internally before public dissemination. She said the district will share initial, internal findings with board members and the community and then publish the formal state comparisons once the NJSLA reports become public.

The administration also described the MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) interim assessment work that the district began this year. Officials said they expect MAP scores to align more closely with the NJSLA than the district''s previous assessment platform did, and staff plan to correlate MAP and NJSLA results over the summer to check alignment and inform next-year placements and interventions. The district said the change in assessment platforms triggered re-evaluation of prior results and helped staff target resources differently this year.

Enrollment and graduation context: the superintendent said the district currently has 273 students (up from 269 the prior May) and previewed graduation counts: 180 seniors enrolled this year, with 178 expected to walk at commencement. She added the class of 2025 earned roughly $4 million in college scholarships and that about 170 of the 180 seniors have already received offers to postsecondary institutions.

The board was told the district will present a fuller public primer at its August meeting and the formal district test report in October once the state provides full results and the district completes its correlation work.