Midyear presentations: several WFISD campuses report reading gains, math remains a challenge

Multiple campus principals presented midyear assessment and unit-test data at the Wichita Falls ISD Board work session, describing targeted interventions to lift student performance — particularly in math.

The Hershey principal (name not stated in the public record) told trustees that middle-of-year reading results show 37.2% of students in the tested grades "did not meet," 23.5% "meets" and 11.2% "masters." The principal said math remains a pressing concern and that the campus has placed district curriculum specialists "Ludke, Henderson, Callahan, and Rasmussen" on-site five days a week for small-group tutoring, and has begun intensive, targeted STAAR-prep sessions.

When asked whether tutoring works below grade level, the Hershey presenter said the campus is "intensifying" efforts and described strategies such as math aids and scaffolds rather than simply reteaching lower-grade content during grade-level interventions. Trustees pressed on how the school identifies students on the "cusp" of proficiency; the principal said students have been banded by performance level and that those closest to proficiency are being strategically prioritized for intensive supports.

Another elementary principal reported K–5 data showing modest reading-goal growth (for example, third-grade reading growth targets) but flagged fourth-grade math as the leading driver of the campus's overall math decline. That campus has added a 30–45 minute STAR-aligned math lesson for fourth graders on top of existing blocks and is running weekly check-ins and intensified intervention time for third through fifth graders.

Veil Elementary's presentation described MAP math growth near the 50th percentile but a winter reading dip from roughly the 51st to the 41st percentile; the Veil principal also highlighted science as an area needing improvement and said district Region 9 will assist. Across campuses, presenters emphasized behavioral and motivational coaching, volunteer tutoring, check-in/check-out staff, and celebrations of student growth (e.g., recognition events and incentives) to improve engagement.

District leaders and trustees characterized the sessions as progress-oriented: presenters repeatedly said there is measurable growth but that current performance falls short of the district's goals and that more intensive, targeted instruction will continue through pre-test windows and the remainder of the semester.