Administrators on Monday presented diagnostic (I‑Ready) and New York State assessment data for grades 3–8 and described steps the district is taking to address gaps and improve proficiency.

Dr. Outlaw and Mr. Pashkin walked the board through fall I‑Ready diagnostic results and the 2024–25 state assessment comparisons. They cautioned that some year‑to‑year graphs compare different groups of students — for example, fall snapshots are not always the same cohorts — and noted higher non‑tested rates in some post‑COVID years that complicate direct comparisons.

“Because students move in and out of the district and different cohorts are tested, some year‑to‑year comparisons represent different students,” the presenters said, adding that administrators can prepare cohort comparisons where possible. The district also said participation has been improving since the 2021 post‑COVID outlier.

Administrators described the instructional strategies they are using to raise foundational skills: Hegarty and Orton‑Gillingham approaches in early grades, Into Reading for grades 3–5, multisensory phonics and differentiated instruction, math fluency practice, manipulatives, and a state program called First in Math. The district also noted use of Acadience (local benchmark assessments) and AIS services to track and support individual gains.

Board members raised questions about cohort tracking and whether the district can produce cohort‑by‑cohort trend lines. Administrators said they will explore whether their data systems can produce cohort longitudinal reports and noted that some locally collected assessments (Hegarty/Acadience) could be integrated for richer comparisons.

Administrators urged caution in interpreting single assessment summaries and recommended multiple measures and spring follow‑up reporting to show growth. A board member requested the spring results, and administration agreed to return with updated spring comparisons.

Next steps: administration will pursue cohort reporting where feasible and present spring assessment results at a future meeting.