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Tea Area School District reviews assessment results, outlines curriculum and coaching plans
Summary
District leaders reported that districtwide proficiency on the South Dakota summative assessment is above state averages in math and ELA and outlined strategies — PLCs, coach assignments and data dashboards — to address gaps and prepare for an 11th-grade ACT transition.
District administrators presented the district'wide academic report and said the Tea Area School District 41-5 is above state averages in several tested areas and is pursuing targeted strategies to continue improvement.
Administrator Dr. Walder, presenting the academic overview, told the board the district is using the South Dakota summative assessment as the basis for building-level instruction and noted that the state has signaled the 11th grade will transition to an ACT-based accountability measure next year. She said the district does not yet have full details from the state but that high-school staff are already preparing: "We do not have details of that yet, but our high school team is already actively working to see what that looks like," she said (Speaker 11).
District scores presented to the board showed math proficiency at about 56% (grades 3'8 and 11), ELA at 57% versus a 51% state average, and science at 47% versus a 43% state average. Elementary and secondary principals walked the board through grade-level trends; speakers emphasized that some grade bands dipped after COVID and that the district is working to recover lost ground.
Administrators described professional learning communities (PLCs), coach reassignments to avoid scheduling conflicts, and the use of a Power BI data dashboard to make performance data accessible to teachers and leaders. "One of the primary ways that we're doing it is through weekly professional learning communities as well as restructuring how the coaches were assigned," Dr. Walder said (Speaker 11). The board heard examples of classroom strategies, including increased student discussion in math and interim assessment exposure to familiarize students with item wording.
Elementary leaders said curriculum review and targeted interventions are underway. "We're putting enough strong emphasis on what we know is best practices with the science of reading, as well as really digging deeply into our standards by our curriculum review this year," a district elementary representative said (Speaker 7).
District leaders said they will continue to share building-level results and work plans with the board and that curriculum adoptions (ELA k'12) will proceed with elementary reviews first and middle/high-school work beginning after Thanksgiving. The board requested continued updates as the state provides details about the 11th-grade accountability changes.
The administration said next steps include continuing PLC work, expanding the data dashboard to ELA, and reporting back to the board on adoption decisions and targeted interventions.
