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District 58 says spring benchmarking shows mixed results; board to pilot new middle‑school math programs
Summary
District officials presented spring 2025 benchmark data and described a discrepancy between NWEA MAP and Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) results; the district will pilot two math programs for grades 6–8 and roll out MTSS protocol and professional development over the coming year.
Downers Grove Grade School District 58 officials told the school board on June 9 that spring benchmarking shows generally expected growth districtwide but persistent lower-than-expected NWEA MAP growth at some middle‑school grades and at specific schools.
In a presentation, staff member Liz Earhart said the district’s spring snapshot draws from NWEA MAP, IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) and locally administered measures and that “IAR is kind of giving a higher trajectory of what’s expected.” Earhart said ECRA reports weight IAR more heavily in their growth model, which helps explain a gap between MAP-only projections and the combined growth reports the district will publish this fall.
Why it matters: District leaders said the discrepancy affects how they interpret spring scores and how they plan interventions and curriculum changes over the summer and next school year. Board members pushed for clear, timely comparisons so the district can spot trends and avoid reacting to single-year shifts caused by changes in tests or norming.
Most important facts: Earhart said preliminary IAR scale scores are subject to updated state proficiency targets scheduled to appear on the 2025 Illinois School Report Card in October. ECRA provided the district an alternate MAP-only report showing that MAP growth is closer to expectations when IAR projections are removed from the model. The district received the ECRA district-level report on June 5.
What the district will do: District leaders announced a targeted math pilot for grades 6–8. Earhart said the district will pilot Carnegie Math and Amplify Desmos with several sixth‑grade teachers and that the district’s math 1 and math 2 sequences will continue to follow the Big Ideas integrated program used in neighboring District 99 for math 1 and math 2 courses. The district also plans to implement a new MTSS protocol next school year and continue Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan (ICLP) professional development for teachers.
Discussion highlights: Board members noted consistent spring-year patterns and asked staff to provide both MAP-only and combined growth views so the board can track long-term trends amid norming changes. Board members also raised testing‑load concerns; one board member said the district should consider whether spring MAP administration is beneficial every year and noted that students sometimes take multiple large assessments (IAR, science, MAP) in close succession.
Next steps and reporting: Staff said principals and building teams will review building- and student-level MAP data during summer planning; the district will share fall ECRA growth reports and the finalized IAR-based growth model at the October curriculum workshop and the November board meeting when the Illinois report card data are available.
Ending: District officials characterized the findings as actionable but not definitive for district-level curriculum changes until the state finalizes IAR proficiency targets and updated NWEA norms for 2025–26 are released.
