District reports modest second-grade MAP gains, sets a 4.82% district growth target

District administrators reported Monday that a cohort of students measured at the end of their first grade year and again at the end of second grade rose from 45.18% to 48.15% being "on track for success," and the district adopted a collective second-grade growth target of 4.82% for principals and PLCs.

The presenter told the board the goal: "Our goal as a district was for 50% of our second graders to be considered on track for success by the end of the school year." The target is meant to be a districtwide stretch goal so schools move together rather than forcing identical targets on schools starting from different baseline levels.

The data discussion emphasized growth and the assessment context. The staff explained first-grade MAPs are read to students, while second-grade MAPs are not; second graders take the assessment independently on the same platform used for older grades. The presenter said that at the 50th percentile a student is performing at the top of average and that the district's 50% target is intended to place more students in the upper half of the distribution before third grade.

John Arnold in the district data department provided the growth calculation used to set the target: principals were told each school would need to grow by 4.82% for the district to reach 50% on track collectively. The presenter reported last year's end-of-first-grade figure at 45.18% and the corresponding end-of-second-grade figure for the cohort at 48.15% this year. When disaggregated, some schools met or exceeded the target; the presenter noted one school, Westell, "made about 16%... 12% above what they were asked to do," a description that combined two figures discussed in the meeting (the presenter clarified that 16% was the total growth and that 12% was how much that exceeded the 4.82% target).

Board members and staff described the MAP growth work as tied to the district's professional learning communities (PLC) work and teacher professional development. No formal board action was taken; the result was a staff-driven directive to continue PLC-focused interventions and to keep the 4.82% growth target as a planning metric for principals and administrative reviews.

Staff said they will continue to disaggregate MAP results by school and subgroup and present progress reports to the board.