District 25 reports tentative gains on benchmarks; gaps remain in upper grades and subgroups

District leadership for New York City Geographic District #25 reported tentative, districtwide gains on recent benchmark assessments but said gaps persist in upper elementary grades and among certain subgroups.

The presenter, a district staff member, said the results should be treated as provisional: “I will say that that current state is still tentative. We still have 5 days remaining for of testing,” and cautioned that final numbers could shift "a little bit plus or minus." The presenter also summarized where the district stands on two assessments used in reporting: Acadians and i-Ready.

Why it matters: district leaders said K–2 showed the strongest gains and several schools already have more than 70% of students on or above grade level on Acadians, but leaders flagged a recurring pattern of a mid-grade dip after third grade that they want to avoid. Several speakers noted the district uses both curriculum-aligned benchmarks and predictive diagnostics; the state exam remains the accountability measure.

Leaders’ findings and context - K–2 and foundational reading: the presenter noted notable growth in early grades and said several schools reported more than 70% of students on or above grade level on Acadians, singling out principals at multiple schools for “big shout out[s].” - Transition to reading-to-learn: panelists said gains in decoding do not always transfer automatically to comprehension on broader texts. The presenter said the district is promoting decodable texts so phonics lessons bridge into independent reading: “The codeable text is a bridge from that phonics lesson.” - i-Ready and upper grades: i-Ready data for grades 3–8 showed more mixed outcomes. The presenter said the district expects to outperform i-Ready on the state exam historically but emphasized uncertainty: “What counts from the point of view of accountability to the state is the state exam.” (attributed to a district staff member identified in the meeting as Doctor Mike.) - Mathematics: leaders reported growth in math median typical growth (many schools above the district median) and expressed hope the district could reach or exceed prior state-level performance in math.

Subgroups and targets District staff described subgroup progress but noted unfinished work. The presenter said some subgroups posted gains of more than 5% (English learners and students with IEPs were cited as areas of focus) while other subgroups—identified in the presentation as Hispanic learners and students with IEPs in particular—remain below target levels. The district’s stated targets included aspirational increases (some targets set at 10% for particular subgroups and 5% overall) to try to narrow achievement gaps.

Programmatic responses and next steps Officials said the district will continue using decodable texts across grades, run targeted phonics/phonics-for-reading interventions in upper grades and use tools such as Just Words where appropriate. Staff committed to share final data after remaining testing is complete and to analyze participation effects for programs (for example, sprint programs) when disaggregated data are available.

Ending: District leaders emphasized that the i-Ready and Acadians snapshots are stepping stones to the state exam and said they would return to the DLT with finalized numbers and recommended next steps over the summer.