CSISD reports early MAP gains and teacher-reported improvements after first year of new K–12 science materials

Amanda Gibson, the district curriculum coordinator for science, told the College Station ISD Board of Trustees on March 18 that the district’s first year using newly adopted K–12 science instructional materials produced measurable gains in some grades and a mixture of stability and variability in others.

Gibson said the district compared fall-to-winter NWEA MAP results this year with prior years and found that second graders’ average growth rose from six RIT points to nine and that eighth graders’ average growth rose from two to six. She highlighted tenth-grade biology students moving from negative growth last winter to an average gain of eight RIT points this year and noted that third through seventh graders were “holding fairly steady.” Fourth grade showed a decline between fall and winter, Gibson said.

Those numbers are part of Gibson’s argument that, with substantial teacher usage of the new materials this year, the district now has enough data to make targeted adjustments. “We expected that we would have to make some adjustments after year one,” she said, “and with our usage being so strong this year, I am confident that we have sufficient data to make meaningful and targeted adjustments to our resource usage next school year.”

Gibson told trustees the curriculum changes…