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District presents two‑year CACR and Achievement & Integration progress, highlights persistent gaps
Summary
District staff told the board the state’s Comprehensive Achievement & Civic Readiness and Achievement & Integration requirements show progress in some process goals but persistent opportunity gaps in graduation and foundational literacy for several student groups; the district will refine lifelong learner goals and increase stakeholder voice collection.
Donna Roper, the district’s director of research, assessment and AI integration, told the St. Cloud Public School District board the district met several process goals in its two‑year CACR review but continues to confront persistent achievement gaps. "Districts now must systematically gather and report on stakeholder voice," Roper said, describing surveys offered three times a year in English, Somali and Spanish and additional affinity and focus‑group work to supplement response rates.
Roper said the district met process targets for early‑readiness activities — for example, families on a wait list received school‑readiness materials and screening protocols improved — but said outcome measures show uneven results. On graduation, district figures were described as "not met," with a roughly 66 percent 4‑year rate and about a 71 percent 7‑year rate. Roper and colleagues said foundational reading proficiency remains a concern: roughly half of students met foundational reading targets overall and subgroup proficiency rates are lower.
Ayan Omar, director of equity services, detailed A&I goals that target race‑based enrollment and access to high‑level courses. Omar said the district’s target for certain student groups is an 85 percent graduation rate by 2026 and set literacy proficiency goals (for example, a 50 percent proficiency target by 2026 for specified cohorts). She highlighted Lincoln Elementary as a racially identifiable school showing pockets of progress — consistent attendance above the state threshold and some reading gains — but noted the school is not yet meeting all outcome targets.
Board members asked how much structural inequities outside the classroom contribute to gaps. Roper referenced research saying classroom instruction accounts for roughly 26 percent of the variance in performance and said outside factors (housing, poverty and other community conditions) explain much of the remainder. "We want to emphasize improving access, not perpetuating comparisons between student groups," Roper said.
On immersion programs, presenters said Spanish and Chinese immersion students may show delayed standardized scores until later elementary grades but that the district’s instructional strategies, including the Science of Reading work, are intended to improve foundational skills over time.
The presentation closed with next steps: refining the lifelong learner goal framework, continuing stakeholder engagement and gathering more classroom‑level assessment evidence. The report was informational only; no board action was taken at this meeting.
