Northshore School District reports mixed gains under 'Goal 3,' outlines steps to close academic and discipline gaps

Northshore School District officials presented an update on “Goal 3” of the district strategic plan — continuous academic growth and elimination of opportunity gaps — at a study session tonight, showing pockets of improvement alongside persistent disparities for some student groups.

Dr. Craig Foster, the district’s director of research and evaluation, said the district used three approaches to analyze outcomes: end-of-year percentages, within‑year (cohort) growth using iReady assessments, and comparison with Washington’s SBA results. “This is why that universal implementation of iReady is so valuable to us,” Foster said, describing four years of iReady data and noting a notable gain in some middle-school cohorts that SBA data partly corroborate.

The presentation showed improvements in early grades and a mid‑school uptick in both iReady and SBA results for some years, but staff stressed interpretation limits. Foster and other presenters warned that sampling effects, changes in participation and benchmark differences between iReady and SBA can affect apparent changes year to year.

The district’s analysis also documented persistent subgroup gaps. Dr. Eva Thomas, executive director of operational change and student…