Duncanville ISD presents midyear assessment snapshot showing districtwide gains and targeted campus interventions

Duncanville ISD trustees heard a midyear assessment briefing Tuesday that district leaders said shows broad student-growth trends and several campuses moving closer to higher accountability ratings.

"We are making data-driven decisions and really excited tonight to highlight some of the progress that we're seeing in our school district," Dr. Goree said as he opened the workshop. Lucretia Newton, the district director of assessment and accountability, reviewed district diagnostics—CLI for pre-K, I-Ready for K–8 reading and math, NWEA MAP for science and high-school subjects, and a locally administered midyear benchmark based on STAAR released items.

Newton said the district ran that benchmark through the state formulas as a "what-if" exercise (not a prediction) and reported higher midyear domain scores relative to last year: a District Domain 1 (student achievement) estimate rising from 69 to about 74 and Domain 2 (student progress) from 72 to about 79 based on the benchmark snapshot. She highlighted campus-level examples, including double-digit increases on I-Ready at some schools and explained that these diagnostics are used alongside other measures—including the district's local benchmarks—to monitor teacher and student growth.

At the campus level, deputy chiefs laid out targeted interventions. Rosa Hernandez said Byrd Middle School added double-blocks of reading and math, expanded PLC time and focused leadership development after gaining several points in raw scores. Alexander Elementary and others were described as a few points from the C threshold, with supports that include third- and fourth-grade adjusted instruction, additional tutoring, and partnerships with Elevate K-12 on curricular supports.

The chief academic officer told trustees Duncanville High School’s midyear benchmark-based Domain 1 increased from 79 to 83 and Domain 2 from 81 to 87; he reminded trustees that college, career and military readiness (CCMR) indicators typically accrue late in the year and that midyear CCMR figures are still rising toward last year’s final rate.

District leaders said they plan an additional benchmark in March to build testing stamina and guide last-phase instructional pivots. "If this data continues to trend as it is now… I am comfortable saying we will not have any F schools," Dr. Goree said, while stressing the benchmark was a snapshot, not a final accountability score.

Board President Jacqueline Colton closed the session by thanking principals and staff and noting the district remains "in a race against time" to close remaining gaps. The board moved to closed session after the public workshop.

Provenance: The reporting above draws on presentations and campus summaries delivered by Lucretia Newton (director of assessment and accountability), Deputy Chief Rosa Hernandez, Dr. Wyatt, and the district chief academic officer during the midyear data workshop (presentations began with Newton at SEG 105 and the high-school summary concluded around SEG 1016).