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Fridley Middle School launches nine-week “achievement season” focused on math and reading; dress rehearsals planned before MCAs
Summary
Ridley/Fridley Middle School leaders described a nine-week effort called Achievement Season aimed at raising MCA proficiency by 10 percentage points in math and reading through building-wide strategies, progress monitoring, daily data conversations and practice dress-rehearsals.
Fridley Middle School leaders told the school board on March 18 about “achievement season,” a nine-week, building-wide initiative to improve math and reading outcomes ahead of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs).
“ We have a goal to improve by 10% in the number of students that are scoring proficient in our math MCAs,” said Dr. Amy Cochran, principal of Ridley/Fridley Middle School, describing the target and the school’s current baseline: about 22% proficiency in math, 35% in reading and roughly 21% in the grades that take the science MCA.
Cochran and Matt Engelhart described a phased plan that began in the summer and continued through the school year. The three phases are participation (weeks 1–3), goal achievement (weeks 4–6) and mastery (week 7–9). The plan includes a “strategic reading plan” that teaches students a consistent preview/annotate/main-idea workflow and math work-habit strategies such as interpreting questions, organizing work and covering multiple-choice answers to avoid cueing.
Teachers are using daily formative checks, progress-monitoring trackers and weekly data conversations to identify misconceptions and re-group students for targeted practice. The middle school adjusted its schedule so every student receives focused literacy work from 8:00 to 9:10 a.m. during the mastery phase; math groups are targeted within regular math periods.
“The goal is to build a culture of confidence,” Engelhart said, describing dress-rehearsal days using a web-based tool (Lumos Learning) and practice tests so students are familiar with the test interface and test-day procedures. Dress rehearsals for reading were scheduled for the week of the presentation and math dress rehearsals the week before spring break; MCAs are scheduled for April and May for the relevant grades.
Cochran noted that individual student scores may be shared with students before statewide results are unembargoed, but aggregated official results will not be available until fall. Board members and the superintendent praised staff and donors who supported incentives and launch events. No board action was required; the report was informational.
