Berkeley County Schools: District posts mixed assessment gains; staff recommends dropping IXL at high school pending board action

Berkeley County Schools officials presented end-of-year assessment data showing measurable gains on formative diagnostics but results that still fall short of state targets for mastery, and recommended discontinuing IXL at the high-school level pending board consideration.

The presentation, led by Mrs. Lopez, a staff member presenting the district—s monitoring report, included I‑Ready, MAP, PSAT/SAT school day and internal benchmark results. "This is all data," Mrs. Lopez said, noting the figures represented every student who tested in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 and that the state—s accountability numbers could differ when the West Virginia Department of Education applies attendance filters.

Why it matters: district leaders said formative measures show growth that could be masked by mastery-based state accountability. The state set a 2025 target of 48 percent proficiency on the West Virginia General Summative Assessment (GSA); the district—s reported figure was about 42 percent. In reading-related diagnostics the district reported stronger relative gains; in math the district reported 34 percent on one benchmark versus a roughly 38 percent target.

Key results and context: the district reported a variety of diagnostic and benchmark improvements. I‑Ready stretch-growth rates were reported at about 38 percent (reading) and 25 percent (math). The SAT school day average for the district was reported as 893 (reading and writing 470; math 423), with about 15 percent of test takers meeting both College Board benchmarks; staff reported 211 students identified as Promise-eligible. Mrs. Lopez cautioned that those figures represent administered tests and that state accountability data will exclude students with attendance under the state—s threshold (130—135 days as specified by the West Virginia Department of Education) when released in August.

On use of instructional platforms: the presentation included IXL diagnostic results showing many students two or more grade levels behind in math on that diagnostic. A district staff speaker said usage and alignment problems limited the resource—s value at the high-school level. "IXL is not aligned to the SAT," a staff member said during discussion, and principals and teachers had raised similar concerns about usage and instructional alignment. District leaders said the high-school administration proposed replacing IXL with other resources (including greater use of Khan Academy and College Board practice) and that the formal recommendation to discontinue IXL at the high-school level would appear for board consideration on Monday. That recommendation is a staff action pending formal board approval.

Board questions and next steps: board members pressed staff on comparability with national and NAEP results, cohort versus year-over-year reporting, and whether fall diagnostics could be compared fairly with other states that test all students. Mrs. Lopez and other staff said they would supply comparative data for the 10 states that test all students, and reminded the board that the district—s accountability picture will be finalized by the West Virginia Department of Education in August. Staff also described plans to shift from high-level diagnostic reporting to standards-mastery reports teachers can use to target instruction.

Ending: staff characterized the district—s situation as a combination of assessment changes, implementation gaps, and alignment issues: "We have to use the data to change their instruction or to drive their instruction," Mrs. Lopez said. The board scheduled formal consideration of the IXL recommendation on the next business agenda and requested additional cohort-level and comparative reporting from staff.