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District 46 presents year-to-date IAR and NWEA results; staff to use data for targeted instruction
Summary
District leaders reviewed Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and NWEA MAP benchmark results showing district-wide growth and grade-level variation, highlighted multilingual and math planning teams, and said staff will use the data to guide instruction and interventions this school year.
Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46 presented a summary of spring-to-winter assessment results and interim benchmark data during its Jan. 15 board meeting, with administrators saying the information will drive instructional changes and professional development.
The presentation, led by Mrs. Block, covered Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) proficiency rates by grade and demographic group and NWEA MAP median percentiles for fall-to-winter achievement and growth. “We are here to ensure that they are growing and learning,” Block said when introducing the data.
Why it matters: Board members and staff said the combined IAR (state assessment) and NWEA (nationally normed benchmark) picture lets the district spot grade-level and subgroup trends earlier than waiting for statewide scores alone. Administrators said the district will use that information to adjust instruction, plan professional development and target interventions before the end of the school year.
What the data shows: Block emphasized that Illinois requires a 70% cut score to be labeled “proficient” on IAR. She highlighted the cohort that took full IAR participation beginning in 2022 (then third-graders) and said that cohort is showing notable progress through subsequent grades. On NWEA, Block pointed to the current 6th-grade cohort (the same 2022 third-graders) as having one of the highest median growth percentiles in the district: a 50th-percentile median growth with median achievement percentiles of 59 (fall) and 55 (winter) in reading. For math, she cited the same cohort’s median growth percentile at about the 52nd percentile, with fall and winter median achievement around the 53rd percentile.
Equity and subgroup trends: Block said every demographic group shown in the IAR ELA charts made year-over-year gains from 2023 to 2024; math showed smaller increases or stability across groups. She described the district’s work to view the results through an equity lens and to use the breakdowns to inform targeted interventions.
Program and curriculum work tied to the data: Administrators described two district planning-and-design teams (PDTs) formed in response to the data: a multilingual and bilingual PDT and a math PDT. Block said the multilingual PDT is reviewing program delivery options and will meet again the day after the board meeting; the math PDT has been meeting 18 months, reviewing resources (district K–5 and 6–8 contracts are expiring) and visiting other districts to observe instruction.
How teachers are using the data: Block and other staff described how NWEA reports allow teachers to drill down to individual students and standards, design “what I need” intervention time, and plan standards-based instruction. She said NWEA’s three-times-per-year benchmarking provides faster feedback than IAR, which is administered in spring and whose official results arrive months later.
Follow-up and next steps: District staff said the PDTs will continue reviewing resources and that the administration plans to present potential curriculum recommendations to the board in coming meetings. Staff also said they will continue school- and classroom-level conversations to design interventions and extensions for students across proficiency levels.
Ending: District leaders said the results show cause for cautious optimism — growth is evident in several cohorts — while acknowledging further work is needed in math and continued attention to subgroup equity.
