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District presents beginning‑of‑year reading and math data; staff urge targeted interventions and revised goal setting
Summary
Provo School District staff presented beginning‑of‑year Acadience, NWEA and state assessment data and recommended use of per‑student growth targets to guide reading and math interventions.
Provo — At the Oct. 14 study session the Provo School District presented its beginning‑of‑year performance data and a district plan to translate assessment results into classroom interventions.
Superintendent Wendy Dow told trustees that the district’s strategic goal — a 15% improvement across math, ELA and science over five years — remains, but staff are beginning to revisit annual targets and implementation steps as more diagnostic data becomes available. District staff emphasized three diagnostic instruments and their uses: Acadience (K‑3 early reading benchmark and skill measures), NWEA (growth measure and predictor of state summative performance) and RISE/ASPIRE (state assessments used for proficiency reporting). Dow explained that ELA RISE raw data can lag and that some state assessments have been re‑calibrated, which affects timelines for final reporting.
The presentation highlighted that while some elementary schools already meet or exceed benchmarks (several above 70% on early reading measures), other schools showed larger beginning‑of‑year deficits. District staff described a goal‑setting worksheet that converts Acadience growth metrics into specific, achievable per‑student targets (for example, words‑per‑minute for fluency) so teachers can implement focused interventions and celebrate growth rather than only proficiency thresholds.
At the secondary level, staff described a targeted pilot using the CAPTI diagnostic to identify decoding and word‑study deficits, with placement into PowerUp (Lexia) blended instruction plus teacher‑led small‑group work. Michelle (district staff) said early secondary placement data showed a notable share of students functioning at primary grades for key literacy skills, prompting creation of intervention classes and a plan to coordinate literacy supports across English, science and math teachers.
On math, staff said early grade benchmark trends have improved at some schools but cautioned that closing gaps remains a work in progress. Trustees asked about adjusting strategic plan goals; staff recommended waiting until mid‑year data to judge whether goals should be made more rigorous. The district said it will continue to support principals and teachers with professional development, data tools and progress monitoring to implement interventions.
