OKCPS reports winter NWEA gains; several schools earn 'gemstone' growth awards

Oklahoma City Public Schools officials presented winter NWEA (MAP) results at the board's Feb. 24 work session, reporting districtwide gains in student growth percentiles in reading and math and spotlighting schools that earned the district’s growth “gemstone” recognitions.

District leaders said the winter assessment shows improvement from last year across elementary, middle and high schools and argued the growth data is an early indicator of stronger achievement moving forward. “Every Oklahoma City Public School Student will graduate ready to fulfill their unique purpose in a healthy and vibrant community,” Jason Galloway, Chief of Staff, said as the presentation opened.

The board was shown both growth and achievement measures from the NWEA MAP screener, a nationally normed, adaptive assessment that produces RIT scores and percentile measures. Presenters emphasized the district’s focus on growth percentiles (where the 50th percentile represents expected one-year growth) and described a system of “gemstones” to recognize accelerated growth: sapphire (50–59), emerald (60–69), ruby (70–79) and diamond (80+).

Districtwide summary data presented by the administration showed steady gains compared with last winter. Elementary reading growth rose from roughly the 29th percentile last year to about the 37th percentile this year; elementary math…