District reports midyear math results; leaders point to new curriculum and coaching as levers

District administrators presented midyear mathematics results to the board on Feb. 26, saying the Oshkosh Area School District's current star rating for the metric is a 3 and that the midyear i-Ready snapshot shows the district is not yet where leaders want it to be.

Presenters cited a number of district actions intended to improve math outcomes: adoption and early implementation of Bridges (third edition) for elementary grades, implementation of Illustrative Mathematics 360 for middle grades, increased coaching and professional development, monthly data conversations and student-centered coaching cycles. At the secondary level the district has newly funded a full-time secondary math coordinator, officials said.

Administrators described midyear results as showing stagnation compared with prior years and highlighted a 6-point midyear dip in seventh grade proficiency that staff said was explained by the seventh-grade pacing schedule: one large standard (operations with integers) was taught after the midyear assessment window and should appear on the end-of-year measure.

Director Cole and others explained that the district is working to align pacing and implementation across buildings and to strengthen collaboration among general education, special education and ESOL teachers so students with additional needs receive access to grade-level instruction. The district described efforts to build principal capacity to observe and give targeted feedback to teachers and said learning-walk data collected across buildings showed about 52% of observed teachers were fully prepared to implement Bridges lessons with fidelity; the district has scheduled training and coaching to raise that proportion.

Board members questioned whether the described strategies are sufficient and asked for evidence these approaches will drive year-over-year improvement. Director-level presenters said the four district levers under their control are: high-quality instructional materials, professional development and coaching, data use and rapid-cycle interventions, and meaningful feedback/evaluation — and that these are the most direct paths to improvement.

Administrators cautioned that results take time to change, particularly where cohorts of students missed earlier foundational instruction, and asked trustees to focus on implementation fidelity and continued, regular review of formative data.

The board held a lengthy question-and-answer exchange about pacing, coaching and how the district will measure progress between now and the spring assessment window.