Hardin County Schools credits foundational numeracy work and I‑Ready with recent gains in early-grade assessments

Hardin County Schools told the board Tuesday evening that coordinated foundational numeracy training and implementation of the I‑Ready classroom materials boosted district assessment results and classroom practices.

District staff reported early-on-grade-level reading and math scores that outperformed state and national comparisons: reading at 62% (state 57%, national 52%) and math at 54% (state 50%, national 49%). The academic lead presenting the data said those figures are based on the district’s three-times‑a‑year diagnostic testing program and are intended to guide targeted instruction.

Brooke Custis, principal of Creekside, described the district’s foundational numeracy transformation cycle, a multi‑year job‑embedded training program that began with a small cohort in 2022 and expanded to all elementary schools by 2024–25. Custis said teachers attend three to four trainings per year, return to classrooms with specific tools, and participate in follow‑up cycles and unannounced walkthroughs. "It provides job embedded training," she said, adding that teachers take new tools back to students immediately.

Custis showed how math toolkits and structured student talk—what she called math routines—give young students language to explain their thinking. She called that practice "intellectual autonomy" and said it supports later, more complex work.

Ashley Cockerell, principal at Iron Grove, credited consultant modeling and consistent PLC work for helping teachers adopt routines and align pacing. She highlighted local support from an I‑Ready consultant, Lindsay Aguilar, who modeled lessons and worked with PLCs.

The district’s internal walkthroughs, Custis said, show a 30% increase in tasks rated "fully aligned," a 39% increase in opportunities to build on students' mathematical thinking and marked decreases in indicators previously judged as "no" (a cited 47% and 63% decrease on different measures). "We went from 0 yeses to 43% yes" on whether tasks promoted reasoning and problem solving, Custis said.

Board members asked whether the state’s expectation of high cognitive demand is always appropriate; presenters said productive struggle is necessary in learning but must be scaffolded to avoid student frustration. District leaders urged parental involvement at home to reinforce practice and recommended simple activities—games with dice or cards—to expose young children to number concepts.

The presentation placed the work in a long‑term context: leaders said they expect the full effect of early numeracy investments to appear over several years as cohorts progress into middle school and beyond. The board did not take separate formal action on the presentation; it was given for information and planning.