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Northern Lehigh reports midyear assessment gains; principals point to targeted interventions
Summary
Principals and administrators presented middle‑of‑year DIBELS and IXL snapshots showing measurable midyear gains across elementary, middle and high school benchmarks; staff described targeted interventions and department action plans to close remaining gaps.
Peters Elementary Principal Schneiderite told the Northern Lehigh School District board that kindergarten literacy results improved substantially between the beginning and middle of the year, and teachers are using classroom-level data to plan targeted interventions.
"The percentage of students that were below or far below benchmark went from 74 percent to 38 percent," Principal Schneiderite said, describing the midyear DIBELS snapshot and the classroom work that followed an Act 80 professional day. She also summarized IXL math results for kindergarten through second grade and said the school has seen a shift toward more students at or above benchmark.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Stonkiewicz said the district's midyear presentations were designed to show progress made since October and to guide next steps. "Tonight's presentation will focus on the progress made in each school through the middle of the year, including comparisons to where we were at the beginning of the year," Dr. Stonkiewicz said.
At Slatington Elementary, Principal Bridal reported modest year‑over‑year improvements in math: Slatington's IXL snapshot showed an increase from about 41% on/above grade level in a comparable snapshot last year to roughly 44% this year. Bridal described use of DIBELS 8 for the first time at Slatington and staff efforts to drill into strands where students need support.
Middle‑school administrators described how IXL snapshots (taken in September, November and early February) reveal most classes making measurable gains within proficiency bands even when students remain in the same broad category. "Many students found to be below grade level may still be in that category, but they have made significant gains," a middle‑school presenter said, noting class‑by‑class averaging of growth scores to highlight where supports are working.
High school officials reported notable gains on subject benchmarks for tested students. "In our first administration we were about 20% on or above grade level in algebra. By the third administration of that in January, we jumped up to 47% on or above grade level," the high‑school presenter said, adding that ELA literature benchmarks moved from about 31% to roughly 48% among those tested across administrations.
Across all levels, administrators said the district is mixing tier‑1 instruction with built‑in enrichment and remediation blocks, PSSA preparation groups, and targeted interventions identified from strand‑level analysis in IXL and other platforms. In ELA, staff are adopting the Amplify curriculum to address gaps in idea development, organization and use of text evidence.
The presentation closed with a promise to return to the board with end‑of‑year assessment results in June, when the district will review summative outcomes and next steps for curriculum and intervention planning.
Context and implications: Midyear snapshots are designed to identify where teaching is producing growth and where additional interventions are needed. District leaders emphasized that movement within proficiency bands can reflect substantial student growth even when summary percentages appear to change slowly. The board received the reports and will examine final results at the end‑of‑year presentation in June.
