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Madison County highlights KSA gains, ranks 25th in raw-data district comparison
Summary
District officials told the board the county’s raw-performance data places Madison County 25th of 173 districts, with lower novice rates and higher proficient/distinguished shares across levels; presenters cautioned raw vs. change metrics can diverge and flagged science assessment anomalies.
Madison County Schools officials presented KSA results to the board on Oct. 17, reporting that—when district leaders averaged raw performance across elementary, middle and high school indicators—the district ranked 25th out of 173 districts, up from 34th the prior year. James Ray, the district’s Chief Academic Officer, and Steve Case, district assessment coordinator, said raw data gives a clearer picture of student performance in a single year, while the state’s reported "change" metric can amplify swings for small cohorts.
Ray and Case told the board the district outpaced state averages on combined proficient and distinguished percentages and had lower novice percentages across grade bands. The presenters cautioned that "change" metrics can produce large seeming gains or losses when cohort sizes are small; they said the board and staff emphasize raw results when setting school improvement plans to avoid misleading interpretations.
Board members praised the downward trend in novice percentages and described improvements in early-intervention strategies—reading recovery and math cohorts—as drivers of that change. The presentation noted district-level raw averages produced a 69.8 score in 2024 and that district leaders use the raw data in school conversations rather than the change-only indicators.
Separately, the board discussed assessment challenges in science testing. Presenters and trustees said the new science assessment produced anomalous statewide results (suppressed or zero 'distinguished' rates in some categories) and pointed to evidence the issue may stem from assessment design or administration rather than local instruction: some students posted top scores on the ACT science exam while state assessment distinguished counts were low or zero.
Dr. David Gillum, the superintendent, thanked the district achievement team and highlighted the Ignite Academies and partnerships he said have supported growth. He also announced a $100,000 donation from Bechtel Parsons/Parsons to fund robotics equipment for the Ignite Academies, part of more than $300,000 the company has provided to the district over 16 years.
The board did not take any formal action tied to the instruction report; presenters said the data will inform school-level improvement plans and continued monitoring.
