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District staff review academic goal‑setting, warning new state standards may lower initial pass rates
Summary
District academic leader reviewed MAP growth vs. SOL achievement measures, historical deltas above the state, and cautioned that simultaneous reading and math standard revisions will likely depress pass rates in the first year of new assessments.
At the retreat’s opening presentation, district academic staff reviewed the division’s approach to annual academic goal‑setting and compared growth measures (MAP) with achievement measures (Virginia SOL testing). Speaker 7 summarized the division’s practice of looking at individual student growth and school improvement plans as part of annual goal setting.
Speaker 7 walked the board through historical SOL pass‑rate deltas showing the division typically outperforms the Virginia average by several percentage points; he emphasized that when the state last revised standards, pass rates dipped sharply before gradually recovering. "When the new standards were tested, the state pass rates dropped 13% and our pass rates dropped 12% in that year," Speaker 7 said, urging caution when setting short‑term pass‑rate targets.
The presentation also noted that MAP is normed nationally (50% expected to meet growth expectations) and that graduation rates have trended high (~95–97%). The speaker recommended the board consider goals that account for the upcoming crosswalk and testing changes so the district does not set unrealistic short‑term targets.
