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Board: district has made reasonable progress in social studies with noted exceptions

2341255 · January 28, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The board voted that the district has made reasonable progress on academic performance in social studies (report R21D) but noted exceptions after reviewing Forward Exam results and local assessment data. Director of Curriculum Instruction Sue Kern presented the report and answered questions about question types and assessment timing.

The Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District board voted on Jan. 27 that the district has made reasonable progress, with noted exceptions, on academic performance in social studies (monitoring report R21D).

Director of Curriculum Instruction Sue Kern presented the monitoring report and summarized district performance on the Wisconsin Forward Exam and local assessments. Kern said, “based on the results criteria … it is my determination that we are making reasonable progress with noted exceptions in social studies,” and walked trustees through item‑level analysis of Forward Exam questions and local end‑of‑course proficiency data.

Key data Kern summarized: the district’s percentage of students scoring “meeting proficiency or advanced” increased at fourth grade by 2.9% but dropped slightly at eighth grade (down 0.8%) and at tenth grade (down 2.7%). The district’s overall percentage meeting proficiency on the Forward Exam was reported at 59.6%, compared with a state average of 53.4%. Kern also reported that formative and summative classroom assessments show gains at elementary grade levels and mixed results at middle and high school levels; the district uses a benchmark of 80% proficiency on prioritized standards for universal instruction.

Kern and instructional specialists are using an item analysis spreadsheet tied to Forward Exam questions to identify question types where students underperformed (Kern said students struggled with select‑multiple items) and to align local common assessments to those question types. Board members asked about scheduling and course sequencing; Kern noted some students take tested social studies courses late in the year and therefore may lack exposure to concepts before the March/April testing window.

The board motion to record that the district had made reasonable progress with noted exceptions was moved by McKillop and seconded by Martineau; the motion passed (vote recorded as carried). The report remains available for questions and further discussion.

Ending: Staff said they will continue data analysis, adjust local assessments to practice targeted question types, and use findings to guide curriculum revisions and teacher coaching ahead of the next Forward Exam administration.