El Paso ISD academics committee reviews midyear MAP results; staff asked to add beginning-year and longitudinal data

Al Garcia, chief academic officer for El Paso Independent School District, told the academics committee on Monday that midyear Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) results show district averages "sitting at 47 for mathematics and 47 for literacy," with emergent bilingual and special education groups lagging behind.

The midyear briefing, presented by Garcia and district presenter Carlos Salas, aimed to measure progress toward the district's House Bill 3 goals, which target the 50th national percentile by 2027. Staff said MAP provides a nationally normed, adaptive snapshot that helps identify students for intervention and acceleration and that the district used iExcel as a targeted support product this semester.

Garcia said the districtwide midyear averages were about 47 in both math and reading. He reported emerging bilingual students at roughly the mid-40s and special education (SPED) growth near 39–40 percentile points. "We do have a monitoring progress calendar" and staff emphasized MAP is used to set growth targets and guide interventions, Garcia said.

Carlos Salas presented grade-band details. He reported kindergarten midyear averages near 44 and said the district's end-of-year and 2027 goals are structured as multi-year, scaffolded targets aiming for the 50th percentile. For grades 1–3 literacy (HB3 goal 1.3), Salas reported current midyear figures of about 47 overall, 43 for emergent bilinguals and about 38 for SPED students, with end-of-year targets set near 48 and 45 respectively.

On early childhood math and other measures, staff acknowledged wider score spreads and identified small-group instruction and teacher professional development as priorities. Salas said the district conducted 28 campus visits in December to work with school leadership and teachers on those strategies.

Committee members pressed for clearer, longitudinal reporting. Trustee Collier requested that future materials show beginning-, middle- and end-of-year columns for the same cohort so board members can see real growth rather than cohort-to-cohort comparisons. "What I'd love to see...is where we're at in the beginning of the year, where we're at in the middle of the year, and then...what our goal is for the end of the year," Collier said.

Board members also raised the roughly seven-point SPED gap in early elementary grades and asked what specific interventions would be used. Garcia and other staff said the response will include targeted teacher support (professional development), increased access to general education curriculum where appropriate, concrete-to-abstract math instruction using manipulatives, and frequent progress monitoring tied to individual education plans (IEPs).

Trustee Osterling asked whether the data can identify causes for slow progression or whether deeper study is required. Staff replied that individual differences and IEP-driven services complicate single-cause attribution but said regular IEP progress reporting and targeted assessments will help identify needs. Dr. Lusk urged staff to provide multi-year longitudinal views and end-of-year comparisons to give the board a fuller picture of growth trajectories.

The presentation also highlighted a positive result: the CCMR (college, career and military readiness) measure for eighth-grade math showed strong performance, with current eighth graders reported around the mid-60s overall and higher for some subgroups. Staff said the district appears on track to meet that HB3 target for the cohort.

The committee did not take formal action. Staff agreed to provide the board with beginning-of-year data, longitudinal analyses over multiple years, and more granular assessments that teachers can use to design faster interventions. The meeting adjourned at 8:23 a.m.