Scituate presents beginning‑of‑year benchmark results as STAR and MTSS work expands

District staff presented the Scituate Public Schools’ beginning‑of‑year benchmark results and described changes to assessment and intervention processes.

Speaker 7 outlined assessment use by grade: DIBELS for early literacy (K–1), STAR for grades 2–8 and new efforts to align high‑school benchmarking. For example, Speaker 7 reported that roughly "54 and a half percent of students are meeting or exceeding" expectations on the DIBELS kindergarten benchmark and that fourth‑grade beginning‑of‑year ELA results show 61% meeting expectations compared with 68% for the same cohort in the prior spring. Staff emphasized STAR is aligned to Massachusetts standards and provides predictive information relative to MCAS.

The presentation highlighted improvements to MTSS processes, including more timely benchmark data meetings, cross‑district grade‑level collaborative time, increased access to intervention scheduling and a new platform for math skill support. Committee members asked for historical context and cohort‑tracking to situate single data points, and one member emphasized writing as an area of concern because it is not currently measured by STAR; Speaker 7 said the district is exploring professional development and potential writing benchmarks in future cycles.

District staff said they will return with midyear benchmark results and recommended next steps for targeted supports based on cohort tracing and the new consistency STAR affords across grades.