Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Assessments Calendar topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pine Bluff district reports mixed test gains, narrows math curriculum choices and sees majority support for early-start calendar
Summary
Superintendent reported district common formative assessment gains across most grades, flagged third-grade gaps in informational reading and said a district survey shows 69% support an early-start school calendar; the board is considering a February recommendation on the 2025–26 calendar and continuing a math-curriculum adoption process.
Superintendent Barb told the Pine Bluff School District board that recent district common formative assessment (DCFA) results show growth across most grades but identified a specific weakness in third-grade performance on informational-reading items, and she said the district survey shows a majority favor the early-start calendar.
The superintendent said the tax-collection timing affected the financial report but opened the academic update by noting required monthly academic reporting. "This data it seems to show the story of our most good business," Miss Ross said while presenting the DCFA results. Ross said the district administered two DCFAs this year in literacy and math and that results show year-over-year growth in many grades but a decline when the current third graders were tested on informational text, an area the district emphasized last year.
Ross said teachers chose 10 priority standards in literacy and math and use the DCFA data to guide interventions and collaborative-teacher meetings. "When I looked at third grade data, ... I dug a little bit deeper in the data," Ross said. She told the board the decline appears tied to a missed rollout of informational-text instruction in second grade; staff plan to add that instruction in second grade so future third graders will have the foundational work.
The district will also compare DCFA results with ATLAS interim assessments to check whether interim and local DCFA results align with expectations for state standards. Superintendent Barb said the first DCFA and the first ATLAS interim were "very close in those specific grade levels" and that the district will use the interim assessments again as a predictor for summative state performance.
On curriculum, Director Greg Ellis (committee chair) told the board a math-curriculum selection committee—comprised of teachers and staff—has narrowed vendor presentations. The committee praised vendors for high-quality presentations and is evaluating digital and consumable (workbook) options. The superintendent told the board the district is weighing secondary materials that offer both digital and hard-textbook options.
On the school calendar, the superintendent said the district sent a stakeholder survey about the early-start calendar and reported interim results: 116 responses so far, 69% favor the early-start calendar; 54% said they believe it has a positive academic impact; 46% believe student attendance improved; 49% said staff attendance improved; 60% said staff and student burnout has improved; and 72% said they do not want to return to a traditional calendar. The superintendent said responses are opinion data and the district will analyze open responses before making a recommendation, with the goal of presenting a calendar recommendation in February 2025.
The board heard updates on school-board training hours, district collaborative-team meetings to analyze data, and next steps to pair DCFA and ATLAS interim results as predictors for state tests. Ross and the superintendent emphasized using DCFA data in teacher collaborative meetings to identify individual-student interventions.
The board did not take a formal vote during the DCFA presentation; discussion and follow-up tasks—additional analysis and a recommendation on the 2025–26 calendar—were left to staff and the board for future meetings.
