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District reports modest gains on STAR assessments, projects 8,778 students for 2025; administrators flag work remaining
Summary
The district's curriculum staff said Renaissance STAR assessments show reading and math gains since fall benchmarks but noted many students remain below basic. Administrators said the new three‑year method for enrollment projection yields 8,778 students and asked the board to consider that figure in budgeting.
Ferguson‑Florissant officials reported incremental academic progress and a new enrollment projection during the March 12 board meeting, while urging further work to reduce the district’s large share of students testing below basic.
Curriculum staff said this year’s shift to Renaissance STAR for reading and math — administered three times so far, with a final spring window still to run — shows measurable gains from August to February in several grades. STAR Early Literacy (K–2) rose notably since last year, with the district reporting an increase from under 30% to roughly 45–50% of K–2 students reaching an expected level on the screeners after curricular changes and interventions.
On STAR Reading and STAR Math the district reported projected improvements that, if mirrored on the state MAP assessments, would represent modest year‑over‑year gains: STAR Reading projected about a 5 percentage‑point increase in students meeting or exceeding MAP‑equivalent expectations and STAR Math showed smaller gains. STAR CBM (one‑minute curriculum‑based measures) data presented for grades K–6 showed roughly a 6–7 point reduction in the proportion of students scoring below basic in benchmark comparisons from August to February.
At the same time, district presenters cautioned that a substantial share of students remain below the proficiency threshold and that winter testing was affected by weather and schedule interruptions. The district is emphasizing early literacy work (including phonics and partner reading) and fact fluency routines in primary grades; administrators said those investments are beginning to show up in the STAR and spring‑math screeners.
Enrollment projection Ryan Dean, who described the district’s new approach to enrollment, said the district standardized its method using DESE’s official September count and a three‑year linear trend for each grade‑by‑school. That method produced a preliminary 2025–26 projection of 8,778 students. Dean said the district found duplicate enrollments in internal records after switching data systems and made corrections before adopting the new approach.
What the board asked for Board members requested a follow up with building‑level data, care‑team referral counts tied to academic interventions, and clearer program evaluations to support decisions about consolidating programs or changing grade configurations. Several members urged faster, more consistent use of classroom‑level progress monitoring and PLC‑based problem solving so faculty can act on students who fall behind without waiting for statewide testing.
Provenance (selected evidence) - topicintro: Ryan Dean’s explanation of the three‑year enrollment method and DESE September count (transcript excerpt at 6990.74–7024.5). - topfinish: Curriculum and assessment summary with STAR and spring‑math results (Murray presentation and Q&A, excerpts at 11108.455–11472.436).
