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Spring ISD CFO flags mixed early results for new reading and math curricula in ROI review
Summary
District's academic "ROI" review showed Amplify (K-8 reading) and Eureka/Carnegie (K-8/math) fell short of early performance targets on STAR reading/math in the first two years; board requested deeper MAP analysis and school-level interventions.
Spring Independent School District's chief financial officer and academic leaders presented an academic return-on-investment (ROI) review on Jan. 16, 2025, that flagged mixed early results for recently adopted curricula and laid out next steps for deeper analysis and targeted interventions.
The district used a GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) program-success tracker to compare baseline goals to actual outcomes for multiple curricular investments, including Amplify (K-8 reading), Eureka (K-5 math), and Carnegie (middle-school math). The CFO reported that Amplify implementation (a district investment reported at approximately $16.7 million to date, funded with TCLAS/ESSER/IMAD and Title I sources) produced lower-than-target STAR reading "meets" percentages in 2023 and 2024 for 3rd and 8th graders. For example, 3rd-grade STAR meets was targeted at 39% for 2023 but the actual result was 34%; in 2024 the target was 42% and the actual result was 29%.
Eureka (K-5 math, about $11.1 million invested) and Carnegie (middle school math, about $3.3 million invested) showed similar patterns: year-1 or year-2 targets were not consistently met, though Carnegie exceeded one early target before regressing in 2024. The CFO said the STAR changes coincided with a new STAR test and a new state accountability system; she recommended adding MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) results to the ROI tool when district teams bring MAP data next month.
Why it matters: The district is using ROI tools to decide whether to continue, modify or stop costly academic programs. The initial analysis suggested some investments are not yet yielding the expected gains and therefore warrant root-cause analysis before committing further recurring funds.
Board discussion and next steps Board members and district instructional leaders pushed for quicker, student-level diagnostic data and intervention plans. Trustees asked that the ROI work move beyond school-level percentages to show individual student progress and the distribution of gains (e.g., who improved, who regressed). Principals and lead master principals said they are using MAP and teacher-level spreadsheets to create individualized action plans and interventions during the current semester.
District staff emphasized several contextual factors: - The Amplify rollout coincided with the new STAR assessment and other state-level changes, which complicates year-to-year comparisons. - High teacher turnover (board cited regional turnover rates as high as ~33%) affects implementation fidelity and PD continuity. - The district is working to standardize implementation supports (extended PLCs/90-minute professional time, targeted coaching) and to require stronger vendor accountability language in future contracts (ROI guarantees or additional support if targets not met).
The board asked the administration to: - Incorporate MAP data into the ROI tracker for next-month presentation. - Provide teacher- and student-level ROI dashboards showing which subgroups benefit from each program. - Continue distinguishing curriculum alignment versus implementation fidelity in any recommendation to stop, modify, or continue a program.
Ending: The board directed staff to continue evaluation and to return with MAP data and more granular, actionable ROI metrics. No immediate budget decisions were taken at the session.
