Kuna Joint District reports NAEP and winter benchmark gains, highlights math improvement

Kevin Gifford, director of assessment for Kuna Joint District, told the school board that recent national and local assessment measures show mixed but encouraging results for the district, with the strongest gains in math.

Gifford told the Board of Trustees that Kuna students ranked above the national average on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in both fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading, and that a separate research scorecard converted NAEP changes into grade-level equivalencies to show Kuna had a 0.36 overall grade-level increase in math across a four-year window and a more than 0.5 grade-level increase in the two years following the pandemic.

The presentation reviewed three data sources: NAEP (a national, externally administered assessment), the district's winter CICA (Short Interim Comprehensive Assessment) benchmarks used as practice ISAT checks, and local progress-monitoring tools (I-Ready math and I-Station reading at the elementary level). Gifford said NAEP charts show Idaho among the top states (fourth- and eighth-grade averages placed Idaho in the top five or six for selected measures) while acknowledging NAEP does not return district-level results.

Gifford explained the Harvard/Stanford "education recovery" scorecard methodology he cited converts NAEP proficiency into grade-level equivalencies and segments districts by free-and-reduced-price-lunch percentages. He said that, by that measure, Kuna ranked among the top growth districts in Idaho in math for the post-pandemic window and was "killing it" on the math quadrant for the district's roughly 30% free/reduced population. He added that reading showed a smaller decline across the four-year window and stabilization in the most recent two years.

Board members and staff discussed what influences the gains. Gifford credited a combination of curriculum and partnerships, naming Curriculum Associates as a mathematics partner that provides data services and biannual support. Trustees asked whether gains were driven by curriculum, by specific student groups, or by cohort effects; Gifford cautioned that different measures and cohort splits complicate direct comparisons and noted some stability and sample-size limits for small schools.

Gifford also reviewed district-level winter benchmark (CICA/SECA) results by school and grade, noting local variability: some elementary and middle school cohorts showed double-digit within-year or year-to-year gains on the district benchmark, while high school results rose within-year but remained below target ISAT performance. He emphasized limitations: the CICA is not administered monthly across all secondary grades and the ISAT portal lacks easy analytic tools, so district staff export screenshots to spreadsheets for local analysis.

The presentation concluded with a district priority to improve assessment tools and data systems, especially for ninth- and tenth-grade monitoring, and with a request to tell the fuller story of district outcomes when communicating with families and the public.

Board members thanked Gifford for the data. Trustee comments noted state funding pressures and the need to tie benchmark reporting to the district's strategic plan and levy messaging.

Sources and figures reported during the presentation: NAEP state rankings (fourth-grade reading sixth highest in the country; fourth-grade math fifth highest; similar top-five placement in eighth-grade reading and math), a 0.36 overall math grade-level-equivalency increase across the four-year window cited from the Harvard/Stanford scorecard, and a post-pandemic two-year math increase of approximately 0.52 grade-level equivalency for the district (figures given by Gifford). Gifford said the district's winter benchmark cohorts showed variable proficiency rates compared with state averages (examples given: some Fremont cohorts around 31% to 56% likely-proficient on the CICA; Kuna Middle cohorts above state averages). Gifford said all students, including students with disabilities and English learners, are included in these measures.

Gifford recommended pursuing a more robust district-wide progress-monitoring tool and better analytic capacity to reduce manual data work and support instruction.

Ending: Trustees did not take a formal vote on the presentation; the data session concluded and the board moved on to subsequent agenda items.