Laredo ISD reports mixed fall CBA gains; district explains MAP use for teacher growth

Laredo ISD interim superintendent and curriculum staff presented fall assessment results Nov. 4, reporting measured gains on the district—administered content-based assessments (CBAs) at multiple grade levels while clarifying differences between CBAs and MAP benchmarks.

District Executive Director of Instruction Ntala Ramirez told the committee that "the district shows gains across all grade levels from 24 to 25," while also noting that some campuses opted not to give CBAs because they had administered MAP and "it was going to take too much of their instructional time." Ramirez said campus leaders were given "autonomy in deciding whether to do the CBA in both grades or not to do them." (00:01:20)

Ramirez and other staff stressed that the tests serve different purposes. "The rigor comes more than anything in the MAP test," Ramirez said, adding that MAP is adaptive and "has a predetermined formula" that allows the district to show individual student growth—data the district said it needs for state teacher-growth recognition (TIA). By contrast, she said, "the CBA is only testing the first 5 weeks of school" and provides a snapshot of what was taught in that period. (00:06:25)

Why it matters…