District leadership presents math data showing multi-year declines; officials outline curriculum and intervention plan

District academic staff presented an in-depth review of math performance and a plan for system-wide improvements. The presenter said district performance is poor in most grades, estimating roughly 30% of students meet or exceed standards across the district. Cohort tracking showed declines over time in the most recent cohort: a fall from 47% meeting standard in ninth grade to 23.9% by eleventh grade for that group.

The presenter framed the work as system-level rather than individual blame and emphasized diagnostics: staff and student surveys (434 student responses reported) and a parent survey launched the same day with about 100 responses. The presenter advocated "backwards design": set the 11th-grade SAT target (500 for graduation; 530 for college readiness) and map backwards to identify gaps in prerequisite skills across grades. The district’s recent 11th-grade average SAT score was reported in the 470s (examples cited: 475), short of a 530 target for college readiness.

Recommended actions include identifying an instructional coordinator for math, mapping grade-level standards in detail, increasing professional development for teachers, adding intervention blocks similar to reading interventions, frequent progress monitoring, and focusing on heavily weighted state standards between now and April to affect near-term test outcomes. The presenter said a project plan with scope, staffing, milestones and a mid-March rollout was expected; no formal policy decision was made at the meeting.

Board members asked for access to the full survey results and comment data. The presenter said a slide deck and a summary would be provided and that the academic systems plan would include a math-specific project plan by mid-March.