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 reflect major shifts in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for science, including more emphasis on anchoring instruction in phenomena and on modeling. She said secondary teachers had a longer ramp to the new routines — some began adopting inquiry-based and argument-driven instruction as early as 2019 — while many elementary teachers only began intensive professional development last year and applied the new routines districtwide for the first time this year.

Board members pressed Gibson on variability in results across campuses. Gibson said most grade levels show greater spread this year than last, which she attributed to being only a few months into substantial instructional shifts. “I fully expect this to tighten up as we move forward,” she told trustees, adding that instructional coaches and campus teams are working to bring behind teams back on pacing.

Gibson also presented a cohort comparison showing that nearly every cohort improved year over year except for two early-grade rows where pacing issues likely affected results. She highlighted instructional-area comparisons (physical, earth and life science) that use colored boxes to show whether units had been taught before the midyear MAP; green boxes indicated units taught before the assessment and yellow boxes showed units still in progress. She cautioned some negative green-box values likely reflect units taught early in the year while teachers and students were still adjusting to new routines.

To illustrate classroom application of the new materials, Gibson shared student work samples from multiple campuses and grade levels: a kindergarten consensus model using a windsock at Creekview, a first-grade phenomena observation also from Creekview, a second-grade sound vibration model at Rock Prairie, a fourth-grade conservation-of-matter activity at College Hills, and middle- and high-school phenomena such as Newton’s third law investigations and models of collisions at College View High School.

Gibson summarized teacher survey feedback collected in February. Across grade levels teachers consistently reported improved student writing, stronger model- and-diagram representations of thinking, greater student independence, and higher-quality classroom discussions. Several teachers’ comments were cited by Gibson with permission: Emily McLaren (Spring Creek) reported stronger academic vocabulary; Robin Haas (Riverbend) reported improved collaboration and problem solving; Beth Hudson (Oakwood) said students were better at connecting daily learning to the anchoring phenomena; Megan Ullman (AMCMS) noted closing gaps; and Eden Fielder (Kinsall) said students were revising models across units.

Gibson said the district will keep the selected materials as the foundation of Tier 1 instruction but will refine how teachers use them — identifying where to follow materials “as written,” where to adjust for district priorities, and where to swap activities that better fit local needs. She said upcoming priorities include completing curriculum documents (assessments remain underdeveloped) and a deeper professional learning focus on the engineering design process next year.

A trustee said the spread in campus results raised equity questions about which students were taking to the new routines and which were not. Gibson said instructional coaches are identifying teams several weeks behind pacing and working directly with those campuses to prioritize essential upcoming lessons and to provide targeted support.

The board did not take any formal action during the workshop; Gibson’s presentation was framed as an informational update and as the basis for continuing refinement heading into the next school year.

Ending: Gibson closed by noting the year had been “a tremendous learning experience” and said the district will use the curriculum audit and teacher feedback to guide adjustments for year two and beyond.