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Central SD 13J reports preliminary ELPA gains; 32 emergent bilingual students reached proficiency this year
Summary
District staff presented preliminary, unofficial results from the English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA), reporting proficiency gains at multiple schools and noting testing timing and rising recent-arrival enrollments as variables to examine further.
Central School District 13J staff presented preliminary and unofficial results from this year’s English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) and the alternate ELPA, reporting 32 emergent bilingual students reached overall proficiency across district schools and highlighting areas for further analysis.
Director Monroy (full name not provided in transcript) told the board the district had 538 students participating in ELPA testing where possible, and that 32 students reached overall proficiency this year: 10 at Central High School, 11 at Ash Creek and 9 at Independence Elementary School (IES). Monroy noted grade-level proficiency rates the district cited: Central High School’s grade proficiency at 22% compared with a reported state level of 6% for that grade cohort; Ash Creek and IES also showed gains in certain grades versus state figures Monroy cited during the presentation.
Monroy and other staff warned the data are preliminary and not cohort-based: the growth charts presented compare two consecutive years of scores for students with two data points and are not a longitudinal cohort analysis. District staff flagged several contextual factors that may affect year-to-year comparisons: the district’s ransomware incident delayed testing last year and may have altered classroom time, the ELPA testing window this year ran April 10–19, and the district recorded a recent increase in recent-arrival multilingual students. Monroy said the district has 77 dual-identified students (students with additional learning needs) who often require longer timelines to reach proficiency.
Staff highlighted domain-specific trends: reading and listening growth in several schools, writing improvements, and an increase in speaking-domain performance after offering students the option to take the speaking assessment one-on-one rather than in the small-group testing environment. Monroy said Central High School’s speaking growth was notable after the district offered that option. Monroy said the district planned a deeper data dive with building teams and would return with more refined, possibly cohorted, analyses.
Monroy and assistant staff said state-level comparisons are not final because the data presented were preliminary. The district plans a follow-up review with staff and a June meeting to discuss next steps tied to the district’s strategic plan.
Meeting context: the presentation took place during the program-report portion of the June 9 meeting. District staff emphasized both gains and the need for careful interpretation of preliminary figures.
