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Board reviews fall universal screening and practice preACT/ACT results; staff outlines interventions
Summary
District staff reported fall universal screening results showing strong median percentiles in many grade levels, explained how preACT/practice ACT scores are used for internal planning, and detailed tiered interventions and plans to increase student engagement with test prep.
District assessment staff presented fall universal screening results and an overview of how the data will drive interventions and instruction.
Dr. Ryan said the district uses fall screening to measure system health, identify students for follow-up diagnostic assessments and to monitor growth over time. “This is really our baseline data that we use in fall to see where our students are at,” Dr. Ryan said.
Key findings: early elementary students (K–1) posted high median percentiles on AIMSwebPlus; most grade levels from 3–8 had median percentiles above the 50th percentile for math and reading, with sixth grade lowest among those but still near the median. For high school, the district administered a practice preACT to ninth and tenth graders and a practice ACT to eleventh graders; staff cautioned that some eleventh-grade practice ACT results were inconsistent because many students did not finish the full-length practice test.
Benchmarks and interpretation: Dr. Ryan noted that DPI and preACT/ACT benchmarks differ — DPI benchmarks drive reporting while preACT benchmarks are used for internal planning — and that fall benchmarks are an early indicator rather than a summative judgment. Board members raised concern about a fall preACT snapshot showing about 27.4% meeting the preACT benchmark in one grade cohort; Dr. Ryan and other staff said fall testing is an early check and that targeted interventions and motivation strategies are underway.
Next steps: the district will continue progress monitoring and tiered supports (tier 1 and tier 2 instruction), retrain interventionists on fidelity of interventions, and introduce more frequent ACT-style questions and classroom routines so students are accustomed to the format prior to spring testing.
Sources: Presentation to the Whitnall School District Board; Dr. Ryan.
