Christie Brown, the department’s chief academic officer, told the State Board that 2024 summer programming enrolled 89,637 students and produced measurable learning effects, particularly in early literacy. "Students who participated in summer learning programs maintained their learning while students who did not demonstrated summer slide," Brown said, summarizing comparative analyses the department ran using universal reading screeners and post‑tests.

Brown explained that policy changes (removal of mandatory summer pretests) altered measurement approaches; the department used spring universal reading screeners or spring TCAP as baselines where appropriate and reported mean percentile rankings to compare outcomes across platforms. She said attendance improved substantially (overall summer attendance 79.7%, up about 14 percentage points from the prior year) and that higher camp attendance (50% vs. 80%) correlated with statistically significant differences in gains.

The board also reviewed promotion pathways for third and fourth grade. Brown reported 73,170 valid third‑grade tests; 40% of third graders met proficiency, and retake administrations added about 3,274 students who reached proficiency and were promoted. For fourth grade, some tutoring pathways led to meaningful gains: 1,740 additional students became proficient on the fourth‑grade ELA TCAP compared with the prior year. The department said 655 third graders and 132 fourth graders were retained in 2024 data counts and emphasized the need for sustained tutoring and monitoring for retained students.

Board members asked about operational readiness and data quality; Brown said the department conducted more than 50 site visits, gathered district reflections and is improving reporting timelines and resources for districts.