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RICAS scores inch up; district uses AI to spotlight per‑pupil spending gap
Summary
Cumberland reported a 2% math gain to 58% proficiency and a 4% ELA gain to 55% on RICAS; presenters highlighted strong student growth percentiles and used an AI tool to compare outcomes with per‑pupil spending, identifying a roughly $7,000 per‑student gap versus the state average.
District curriculum and finance staff presented RICAS (state assessment) results and an AI‑assisted analysis of outcomes and spending.
"Holistically, overall, the district we have a 2% increase in mathematics, so we're at 58%," said the presentation team, and ELA showed a 4% increase to 55% proficiency. Presenters reported average scale scores of 504 in math and 502 in ELA and emphasized student growth percentiles (SGP), saying Cumberland posted among the highest SGPs — a measure of academic growth compared with peers.
Presenters described measurement and improvement work: item analysis, mapping teams that include teacher representatives at each school and targeted interventions such as tier‑2 supports at the middle‑school level. Bethany Silva and Kathy Cardoza described steps to calibrate grading, bolster writing instruction and deploy coaches to classrooms.
The presentation included an AI analysis used to visualize performance and district spending. Mr. McGrath reviewed an AI graphic that compared per‑pupil spending and performance: the district's per‑pupil spending was presented at roughly $17,000, and presenters noted a $7,000 gap per student against the statewide average. The presenters said that gap equated to roughly $35 million if Cumberland's per‑pupil spending were raised to the state average based on current enrollment figures.
Committee members asked how the district adapts resources by school; presenters said principals set building goals tied to evaluation and student‑learning objectives, coaches provide in‑building supports, and successful targeted investments (for example at McCourt Middle School) were cited as models. The district also described strong outcomes for multilingual learners in growth percentiles.
District leaders said Transpire and other data sources are available in the public RIDE portal, and they committed to follow‑up materials and school‑level breakdowns for committee and public review.
