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Candidate outlines data-driven plan to boost TCAP scores, emphasizes early literacy and teacher support
Summary
Dr. Crabtree told the Coffee County board she would focus on differentiated instruction, vertical planning between grades, stronger professional learning communities, and alignment between diagnostic tools (Aimsweb) and TCAP expectations to raise proficiency from current levels toward the state goal.
Dr. Crabtree addressed district academic priorities during her interview, identifying early literacy, teacher training, vertical planning and data-driven instruction as central to improving TCAP performance.
"We have to meet every student where they are and we have to push them to their potential," she said. She recommended strengthening elementary foundational skills—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, basic math automaticity—and matching those gains to secondary expectations through vertical planning between fifth and sixth grades.
She criticized gaps between diagnostic screeners and state tests, saying the district should "evaluate the state's expectations for Aimsweb and LOEs and compare it to our current district policy" because differing expectations can create a false sense of achievement at lower grades.
Her plan highlights: learning from high-performing districts, using textbooks with integrity, strengthening professional learning communities (PLCs), focusing on data-driven instruction and providing teachers adequate prep time and training. She cited tools and products the district already uses or has examined, including I-Ready, AR, and PearsonAccessNext data for historical analysis.
Why it matters: Coffee County's TCAP proficiency rates were described in the interview as roughly 35% against a state goal of 70%, a gap the candidate called central to district improvement efforts. The candidate stressed that teacher retention, training and consistent instructional practices are necessary complements to assessment strategies.
Ending: Dr. Crabtree urged district leaders to replicate practices from consistently high-performing districts and to prioritize sustained professional development and schedule structures that protect core instruction time.
