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Pine Bluff School District: interim tests show most students at low performance levels; district plans January training and individual learning plans
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Rice told the board that district and state interim assessments show most students scoring at performance levels 1–2; the district will use state 'ATLAS' testlets, a district ‘1‑pager’ data protocol and January professional development to move students to level 3 and roll out individual Student Success Plans.
Superintendent Dr. Rice told the Pine Bluff School District board on Dec. 16 that a broad battery of local and state assessments—district screeners, ATLAS screeners, district common formative assessments (DCFA) and ATLAS interim assessments—show most students performing at the state’s level 1 or 2.
Dr. Rice said the district administered multiple instruments this fall to identify at‑risk students and prescribe targeted interventions. Students identified by the ATLAS screener receive diagnostic "testlets" that produce an individual reading or math plan; teachers use those plans in small‑group instruction during "WIN" time and classroom interventions. The district reported administering 5,976 interim ATLAS assessments in the fall window (Oct. 21–Dec. 6).
The superintendent and staff told the board that many interim items assess full‑year grade‑level standards that may not yet have been taught, which helps explain lower scores in some subjects. District leaders said the largest share of students scored in levels 1–2 on both the DCFA and the ATLAS interim assessments, mirroring end‑of‑year results from the prior year.
To address the results, the district’s guiding coalition updated a one‑page data‑analysis protocol that pairs each priority standard with the state’s performance‑level descriptor. The protocol sets level‑3 performance as the instructional bar and asks collaborative teacher teams to vet common formative assessments, set cycle pacing, and craft specific interventions. Principals will lead training with teachers during two professional‑development days in January; teachers will follow up with individual meetings so students understand their results.
Dr. Rice also said the district will begin documenting assessment outcomes in Student Success Plans for students in second grade and up so learners and families can track progress toward mastery. The board’s planned next steps include continuing professional development, reviewing pacing guides aligned to Arkansas State Standards, and monitoring whether classroom practice shifts instruction toward the level‑3 outcome.
"It’s not just that we test a lot," Dr. Rice said. "What we do with the results is what matters."
