Portland Public Schools presented the 2024–25 Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) data to the board on Oct. 28 and outlined district responses that aim to translate assessment results into classroom practice.

Dr. Renard Adams, presenting the OSAS trends for the district, said PPS continues to ‘‘outpace the statewide average by double digits’’ in both English language arts and mathematics, and noted the district has achieved academic recovery in math compared with pre‑pandemic levels; ELA performance is nearly restored, within a tenth of a percentage point, he said.

Nut graf: While districtwide gains were evident, the presentation flagged persistent gaps among student groups. The district will use its district continuous improvement plan (DCIP), classroom coaching and the RISE initiative of instructional visits to focus on teacher clarity and grade‑level, standards‑aligned tasks.

Key findings the presenters highlighted:
- Districtwide gains: Many grade levels showed increases in both ELA and math; PPS growth outpaced statewide averages. Math performance exceeded pre‑pandemic levels; ELA is nearly there.
- Group‑level disparities: All students except elementary Latinx students saw increases in ELA, while elementary Latinx students showed a decrease in math; students with disabilities continue to perform below peers; multilingual learners require additional focus.
- Board goals and benchmarks: The presentation mapped OSAS proficiency trends to board goals (third‑grade reading, fifth‑grade math, eighth‑grade readiness) and noted where goals were met or not met for specific student groups.
- Participation limits: Student participation at the high‑school level is low because OSAS is administered in grade 11 and opt‑out rates are high; that suppresses the value of some school‑level comparisons because ODE declines to analyze data where participation is too low.

District response and next steps: Dr. Isaac Cardona described a set of operational practices the district is applying this school year: RISE classroom visits (leadership teams visited roughly 7,000 classrooms in the first six weeks to assess foundational practices), professional learning communities for principals, twice‑quarterly instructional exchanges between buildings, and targeted supports for schools needing tiered interventions. The DCIP emphasizes three "ideal student learning actions": teacher clarity, engagement in grade‑level, standards‑aligned tasks, and student self‑assessment — with this year’s focus on the first two.

Board members asked for additional cross‑tabulations and monitoring: overlays of chronic absenteeism with proficiency by race, longitudinal growth files, and a clearer display of students who are near‑proficient versus far below standard. Student Representative Ian Retorto raised participation and motivation concerns at the high‑school level, noting that opt‑outs and low student engagement can make results less representative.

Ending: District leaders said they will provide further disaggregated analyses and school‑level implementation updates as DCIP strategies are rolled out; they identified the November state revenue forecast and upcoming assessments as milestones for related operational planning.