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Board hears interim report showing middle-school MAP gains but off track for 2027 literacy goal
Summary
Tulsa Public Schools reported winter-to-winter MAP gains for most student groups in grades 6–8 but said it remains off track to meet its May 2027 target for economically disadvantaged students; administrators cited attendance, novice teachers and curriculum implementation as priorities.
Tulsa Public Schools presented an interim monitoring report on interim goal 2.1 — the percentage of grades 6–8 economically disadvantaged students projected to score basic or above on the Oklahoma school testing English language arts assessment — showing modest gains but an overall trajectory that remains below the board’s 2027 target.
Superintendent Dr. Johnson introduced the report and said the district remains off track for the board’s target but is making measurable progress. "While this report reflects that, unfortunately we are off track with meeting the goal that we have outlined, in this report, we can see through the data a projection towards going in the right direction," she said.
Chief Learning Officer Armstrong framed the use of MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) as the district’s interim tool to project students’ likely performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP). "MAP allows us to see student progress three times a year," Armstrong said. She explained MAP’s adaptive scoring and how the district uses MAP-to-OSTP projections to track growth between assessment windows.
Key findings presented to the board included: - Overall, 43% of all students (including non–economically disadvantaged) were projected to score basic or above on the spring OSTP based on winter MAP scores; the board’s target for economically disadvantaged students is an increase from 38% in May 2023 to 54% by May 2027. - Fall-to-winter gains occurred across racial and ethnic groups, with Pacific Islander students up 4.9 percentage points and white students up 3.9 points; African American students grew by about 2.2 points and Hispanic/Latino students by about 1.5 points. - Students with disabilities improved from 7.8% to 10.5% (a 2.7-point gain); multilingual learners improved by 2.7 points. - Grade 7 showed the most growth (3.6%), while grades 6 and 8 had smaller increases. - Attendance correlated strongly with gains: non–chronically absent students gained 4.8 percentage points compared with 2.7 points for chronically absent peers, leaving a persistent 17-point performance gap. - Five middle schools — Carver, Edison, Rogers, Tulsa Met, and Webster — were projected to increase their state report-card achievement points for the 2024–25 year.
Administrators described instructional and programmatic responses. The district reported a roughly 90% adoption rate of the StudySync ELA curriculum; intervention resources cited included Exact Path (individualized digital learning paths) and Read 180 (Tier 3 intervention). Chief Armstrong said those programs and teacher supports are part of a multi-tiered approach to increase literacy proficiency. "We have, some key intervention resources that we know have supported students in mastering some of those skills… Exact Path utilizes a student's MAP score to create an individual learning path," she said.
Board members repeatedly raised attendance and staffing concerns. Administrators said middle schools carry the highest share of novice teachers (about 38% novice at middle school level versus 29% elementary and 33% high school), and that increasing support and targeted professional development for newer teachers is a priority. Dr. Johnson said the district is working to align elementary and middle-school transitions, increase the use of data-driven instruction and clarify expectations for core instruction and interventions.
Board member questions covered data stability, race/ethnicity self-identification in enrollment data, and how schools share best practices. Chief Brookstresser (data) explained that the district does not retroactively change previously reported periods; the reports reflect student self-identification and that raw numbers are provided to help track denominators and detect unexpected shifts.
The board voted to accept receipt of the interim goal 2.1 report. Dr. Johnson and her leadership team said the district will continue to provide updates and focus on attendance, curriculum fidelity, targeted interventions and teacher support to accelerate progress toward the 2027 target.
