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Board reviews interim goals: ninth‑grade reading and 10th‑grade math show winter gains
Summary
The board received a goal‑monitoring report showing winter CERT assessment gains for ninth‑grade reading and 10th‑grade math, and reaffirmed multi‑year targets through June 2027.
The Jefferson County Board of Education on Jan. 28 received interim academic monitoring showing gains on the district’s CERT assessments for ninth‑grade reading and 10th‑grade math, while staff urged the board to keep multi‑year targets unchanged through a 2027 midpoint review.
Superintendent Marty Polio and academic leaders described the CERT assessment as an ACT‑type progress monitor for high school students, and presented winter interim results. Administration reported 34% of ninth‑grade students met or exceeded the CERT college‑readiness benchmark in reading in the winter 2024–25 cycle; demographic gains from fall to winter included Hispanic students (+6.5 percentage points), Black students (+5.9), white students (+5.7) and free‑and‑reduced‑lunch students (+5.5).
The district’s interim target for ninth‑grade reading is to increase from 40% in spring 2024 to 50% by June 2027, a midpoint in the board’s multi‑year goals. For 10th‑grade math, winter results showed 14.1% of students meeting or exceeding the ACT benchmark; the interim goal is to move from 16.3% in June 2024 to 26% by June 2027. Administration reported upward movement across demographic groups on both measures between the fall and winter administrations.
Chief of School Robert Moore, assistant superintendents and program leads described classroom and school strategies tied to the gains: adoption and phased implementation of high‑quality instructional resources (HQIR) in high school English and math; use of CERT‑provided individualized learning resources for students; school‑level “vital signs” data reviews to target supports and interventions; and expanded middle‑ and high‑school literacy practices. Staff noted CERT scores are expected to be lower than K–8 MAP results because CERT predicts later ACT performance across multiple years of coursework.
Board members asked about how targets are set and whether the mid‑course review would alter them. Administration said the Council of Great City Schools recommended holding the multi‑year targets through the midpoint (2027) before reassessing. Board member questions touched on classroom practices, teacher training in adolescent literacy, intervention models for students with foundational skill gaps, and whether the district can benchmark performance against peer districts using CERT; staff said comparative CERT data and linking studies are planned as the district completes its second full year of CERT testing.
A motion to receive the goal‑monitoring report (moved by James Craig and seconded by Rita Strange) was approved, the board recording ‘‘Ayes have it.’’ No formal changes to the targets were made at the Jan. 28 meeting.
Why it matters: The interim data provide the board and community an early read on progress toward multi‑year academic readiness goals and on equity‑related subgroup trends that will shape instructional priorities and resource allocation going into the 2025–26 school year.
