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Whitehall-Coplay leaders present state and local assessment results, highlight middle-school algebra gains
Summary
District data leaders presented a K–12 'data culture' update and assessment results showing strong middle-school Algebra 1 Keystone outcomes and mixed performance across PSSA strands; staff emphasized using DIBELS, iReady and IXL to target growth and move students to the next proficiency band.
Whitehall-Coplay School District data leaders presented the district's second-year effort to build a "data culture," walking the education committee through state Keystone and PSSA results and local screening tools used to guide instruction.
Presenters described the district's approach to cohort analysis over five years and highlighted middle-school Algebra 1 Keystone performance: among middle school students who took the Algebra 1 Keystone last year, 96% were proficient or advanced. Staff credited placement and accelerated course options for improved results and noted that targeted placement criteria and teacher work paid off.
On ELA PSSA results, staff said cohort tracking shows generally consistent performance across grades 3–8, with notable growth in the text-dependent analysis anchor and some year-to-year dips that may reflect changes in online testing and student familiarity. For middle-school PSSA math, staff said geometry showed a slight dip from 34% to 32% proficiency but that grade 8 students improved across four of the five assessed strands.
Local screeners and diagnostics are central to the district's approach. Staff said the district adopted DIBELS for K–3 universal screening (usable through grade 8) and uses iReady in grades 2–5 and IXL at the secondary level to inform MTSS placements, interventions and enrichment. Presenters said careful analysis of students near proficiency suggests the district can shift roughly 30–35 students per grade level to the next proficiency band with targeted interventions.
The presenters also described how data informs Title I school plans and teacher-level goals and previewed continuing building-level data meetings and a future "future focused" summer day for teacher leaders. Staff said midyear assessments will reveal whether the interventions and shifts in instruction move the targeted students into higher proficiency levels.
