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La Joya ISD math update: mixed growth, 1st- and 2nd-grade attainment off track, Algebra I improving
Summary
Chief Academic Officer Manuel Little reported mixed MAP and STAAR-related results. District leaders said math growth shows progress compared with reading but first- and second-grade attainment at midyear remains off track; third grade and Algebra I showed pockets of improvement.
La Joya ISD's Lone Star Governance update on Feb. 26 highlighted mixed math results across grades: some gains where new curriculum and coaching have taken hold, and persistent declines in other grade bands.
"We've gotten really pretty good at using the curriculum," said Chief Academic Officer Manuel Little, noting that weekly implementation data and coaching have contributed to higher growth percentiles in math than in reading in most grades. But Little told the board that growth in many grades remains below the 50th-percentile projection used to evaluate year-to-year progress.
Little said third grade showed unusually strong growth at midyear, with achievement increasing where growth exceeded projections. Algebra I—measured across eighth- and ninth-grade students taking that course—also showed the growth necessary to raise achievement. Conversely, Little said first-grade attainment and second-grade middle-of-year attainment, the two official Goal Progress Measures reviewed that night, are "off track."
The presentation stressed that computer-adaptive assessments (MAP) measure growth at a rigor level rather than percent-correct; teachers should pair high-quality instructional materials with research-based strategies and use data to group students for targeted supports. Little said the district has begun research-based instructional strategies training for principals and representative teachers, with math-focused sessions launching after literacy work had begun.
When a board member asked how the district supports students who need extra math help without discarding grade-level instruction, Little said that schools use built-in intervention time (elementary specialized learning time and middle school "Quest" periods), small-group pulls during core lessons, and increased tutoring or extended-day offerings.
Little and his team said the improvement path is multi-year, with curriculum implementation and greater instructional fidelity expected to drive additional gains over time.
