Farmington district narrows focus to Hispanic students as FastBridge replaces NWEA in indicators
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Summary
District staff presented revised District Indicators of Success, highlighted demographic shifts, and explained use of FastBridge and other local measures; board members pressed for clarity on MCA reporting and the timeline for seeing test effects.
The Farmington Public School District on Monday presented updated District Indicators of Success that narrow the district's focused achievement and growth goal to Hispanic students and emphasize local diagnostic assessments over statewide MCA comparisons.
District staff said the indicators now include three years of data and clearly mark the district's comprehensive achievement and civic-readiness goals. "We did change our focused achievement and growth goal here, and we are focusing on our Hispanic population," Lisa said, noting changing demographics and growth in multilingual learners.
The change follows a recent IPR review and a request from the board to show three years of trend data. Staff reported the district's multilingual population rose from about 250 students in 2015 to 643 now; 60% of the 643 multilingual students are Hispanic. Staff also said 197 students participated in credit recovery this year and 357 credits were recovered.
Why it matters: staff framed FastBridge (now used as the universal screener for grades 6'8) as a diagnostic tool that gives building- and student-level guidance for interventions, unlike statewide MCAs that the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has urged districts not to use as direct comparisons. "It's a point of data. Districts can determine how to use it," Lisa said, summarizing MDE's guidance.
Board members pressed for clarity on which data the district is obligated to report versus what the board chooses to emphasize. One board member noted that MCA participation at the high school level has fallen (to about a third of students), which weakens statewide comparisons. Staff said FastBridge gives diagnostic and progress-monitoring information schools can use immediately; the district will reassess cohorts after January and again in spring to see measurable change.
The indicators include three stated goals: reduce the achievement disparity for Hispanic students in grades 2'5 (the academic goal), increase BIPOC enrollment in AP and College in the Schools courses (the integration goal), and increase access to racially diverse educators. Board discussion cited modest recent movements: roughly a 0.5 percentage-point change on the first goal and about a 1 percentage-point increase in BIPOC enrollment in advanced coursework over the reported period. A board member observed that Achievement & Integration (A&I) funding to the district is about $800,000 per year and asked how much that has moved the needle.
Staff highlighted non-assessment work tied to the goals: literacy professional development, home visits (36 reported since adding three cultural advocates), student success coaches in middle schools, and restorative-practices training for staff. Staff said the district has increased outreach to diversify the educator pipeline through strengthened relationships with universities and by supporting paraprofessionals to move into certified roles.
What comes next: staff will provide another FastBridge data point in January and again in the spring, and the district will continue building-level deep dives. Board members asked staff to make reporting clearer to the public and to track the indicators alongside participation rates for statewide assessments.
The presentation and follow-up discussion occurred during the agenda item titled "District Indicators of Success." No formal vote was taken on the indicators themselves at this meeting.
