Perkiomen Valley presents subgroup achievement data; board discusses gifted identification and third‑party audit

Perkiomen Valley School District supervisors presented student achievement data disaggregated by race and grade band and discussed district efforts to address achievement gaps and gifted identification.

Staff said district results compare favorably to other Montgomery County districts and statewide averages in some areas, particularly English language arts and science, but that math “continues to be an area of focus.” The presenter reviewed PSSA and Keystone measures across grade bands and called third grade reading a particularly important marker for long‑term success.

On subgroup trends, staff presented line graphs showing year‑to‑year performance for students identified as Asian, White, Black, and Hispanic across third, sixth and eighth grades. Staff and board members noted some downward trends in certain subgroups and cautioned that mobility and changing cohort composition can affect longitudinal interpretation. “We’d have to really think about that and match things up so that these students in third grade 3 years later are the students in sixth grade,” a board member said.

Gifted identification was an extended topic. Board members and staff discussed whether Perkiomen Valley is under‑identifying Black and Hispanic students for gifted services relative to their share of enrollment. Staff described universal screeners and teacher recommendations as part of the identification pathway and acknowledged parental advocacy and mobility can influence testing and identification. One board member cautioned against expanding gifted identification too broadly, saying gifted services should be reserved for students whose learning needs cannot be met through differentiated general‑education instruction.

The district said it has contracted the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU) to conduct a gifted programming audit that will review identification processes and programming. Staff said MCIU will conduct interviews and focus groups in May and hope to deliver a report this summer.

No policy changes or identification rule changes were adopted at the committee meeting. Staff said they will use the MCIU audit to inform next steps on screening, teacher recommendations, parental requests, and programming to ensure both students who need specialized gifted services and those who require differentiated instruction receive appropriate supports.