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Horace Mann monitoring report: API fell after expanded algebra enrollment; district outlines supports
Summary
Staff reported that Horace Mann Middle School's API dropped 13 points because the school increased eighth-grade algebra enrollment from 33 to about 107 students; the district plans additional math coaching, staffing, and sections to support the broader algebra enrollment and will report more after the state’s November action.
District staff presented the ninth monitoring report for Horace Mann Middle School at the Oct. 9 board meeting, reporting that though many program components are now in place, the school's Academic Performance Index (API) dropped by 13 points.
Staff said the decline was driven largely by mathematics outcomes after the school expanded eighth-grade algebra enrollment from 33 students in the earlier year to about 107 the next year. "With the additional students, the proficiency rates went down," the monitoring presentation said, noting that while expanding access to algebra aimed to reduce gatekeeping, the proficiency rate among the larger cohort fell and triggered state attention.
The district outlined supports now in place: four days per week on-site math coaching, an additional half-time FTE to offer extra math sections, and curriculum alignment and interventions for students without full prerequisites. Staff warned that the school faces deeper sanctions from the state in November if API trends do not improve.
Board members asked for further analysis of cohort outcomes to determine whether students who previously succeeded were adversely affected; staff agreed to return with more detailed data.
