Board hears falling third-grade scores; approves reading improvement plan to document interventions

Board members and curriculum staff on Dec. 9 discussed a noticeable decline in third-grade OST scores and the district’s plan to respond.

Administrators told the board that statewide third-grade performance fell roughly nine percentage points in the most recent results and the district’s third grade fell about ten points. The district described the cohort as students who began school during the COVID pandemic and said these students have not yet caught up to expected benchmarks. In response to a law effective Sept. 30 requiring an improvement plan for districts below an 80% threshold on the relevant reading measure, administrators presented a reading improvement plan for kindergarten through third grade that documents current and planned interventions, including additional intervention periods beyond the instructional day and a data sheet to be filled quarterly by teachers and staff.

Superintendent Sexton said the plan is essentially a written record of interventions already under way and the board approved posting the plan on the district website following the meeting. District staff described planned quarterly tracking and targeted interventions intended to improve outcomes on spring assessments.

Board members asked for clarity on how interventions will be tracked and how the district will measure progress toward the state benchmark; administrators said the district will use a quarterly data-tracking sheet and coordinate with the district leadership team to monitor growth and adjust instruction.

What happens next: The reading improvement plan will be posted after board approval and administrators will begin the quarterly data-tracking process and report results to the board at future meetings.