APS board accepts midyear math monitoring report, asks for clearer growth metrics

The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education voted Feb. 19 to accept the district’s midyear progress monitoring report for interim goals 2.1 and 2.2 measuring math proficiency.

Board members praised incremental gains but pressed administration for clearer, comparable growth metrics. Board President Gonzales and several members asked whether the report’s headline figure — a 4.2 percentage‑point increase in the share of targeted students who are “on or above grade level” at midyear — reflects typical (I‑Ready) growth, the change from beginning‑of‑year to middle‑of‑year for the same students, or another measure.

Superintendent Gabriela Durban Blakey said the 4.2 percentage‑point number represents more students now classified as on or above grade level at midyear than at the start of the year, and she described district expectations that some students must exceed I‑Ready “typical growth” for two consecutive years (so‑called stretch growth) to reach grade level. "We have to impact the daily experience of all of our students, ensuring that we provide high quality instruction at grade level," Blakey said, summarizing the district’s strategy behind a newly issued teacher toolkit.

Why it matters: board members said that without a clear numeric comparison to typical growth on the I‑Ready scale the public cannot judge whether the midyear gains are likely to translate into stronger end‑of‑year outcomes on the state summative test. Members repeatedly sought the district’s preferred metric for success and requested point‑score deltas (scale‑score growth) for focus groups such as Yazzie‑Martinez students and Black students so the board can compare local results to Curriculum Associates’ typical‑growth benchmarks.

What the report said and what the administration is doing: district staff described a multi‑tiered approach. The administration rolled out a middle‑school teacher toolkit that links grade‑level standards to prerequisite skill gaps (a coherence map), provides just‑in‑time interventions, and points teachers to APS units of study and district resources. The district is also running a Principal Leadership Academy and increasing principal supervisor visits and school scorecards to drive school‑level accountability.

Members singled out geometry as a recurring skill gap in sixth and seventh grades. Deputy Superintendent Antonio Gonzalez and Chief Academic Officer Sherry Jett said common barriers include surface‑area and spatial‑reasoning items, persistent fraction and proportional‑reasoning gaps from elementary grades, and language demands within geometry that affect English learners. The district cited strategies such as manipulatives, multimodal tasks, and Illustrative Math language routines to address the gap.

Board members sought evidence the new, school‑level strategies will change the district’s growth trajectory. Assistant Superintendent Christopher Sanchez and other administrators said they will supply additional points of evidence — including average scale‑score growth from beginning to middle of year for focus groups — to compare against I‑Ready typical and stretch targets.

Board action: after the monitoring conversation, Member Courtney Jackson moved and Josefina Dominguez seconded a motion to accept the monitoring report. The roll call vote was unanimous and the board recorded that the acceptance signifies the board had a satisfactory monitoring conversation and a deeper understanding of how current student performance aligns with the board’s vision.

The board and administration agreed to follow up with requested technical data (scale‑score deltas and cohort comparisons) and to continue implementation of toolkit supports, principal coaching and scorecards.

Ending: District leaders said they will bring the requested technical growth figures to the board for review; members said they will consider whether the board should request that data formally if it is not posted with the monitoring materials.