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District data show broad growth in language arts; math flagged for review
Summary
Dr. Yanki presented AIMSweb benchmark and PSSA comparisons showing cohort growth in language arts and some grade-level variation in math; trustees asked for continued monitoring and slides were to be shared with the board.
Dr. Yanki, the district presenter, told the school board the district's AIMSweb benchmark and Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) results generally align and indicate steady student growth in language arts, while math scores showed uneven results that the data team will investigate.
The presentation compared AIMSweb fall/winter/spring benchmarks with spring PSSA outcomes using both horizontal (same-grade) and vertical (cohort) views. "We're looking at the data both ways," Dr. Yanki said, "and you're going to see it's actually very powerful data, and it's, very positive as well." She explained that AIMSweb flags students below the 26th percentile for extra interventions and said the district uses multiple measures to identify need rather than a single test.
Why it matters: trustees said the vertical cohort view is useful for tracking growth and for identifying summer slide effects. Dr. Yanki highlighted an unusual PSSA result in which a sixth-grade cohort had no students scoring below 'basic' in language arts and noted several cohorts showed strong gains from winter to spring. But she also called attention to math, where third- and fourth-grade drops warrant further analysis. "Math's a little concerning," she said, and noted factors that can affect percentages: opt-outs, small cohort sizes and student mobility.
Board members pressed for clarity about comparisons across instruments. One trustee noted that AIMSweb benchmarks (26th percentile threshold) and PSSAs (50th percentile for 'proficient') use different cut points, which complicates direct comparisons; Dr. Yanki agreed and said the district can re-bin AIMSweb to match PSSA thresholds if the board wants. Trustees also emphasized that with small cohorts a single student can shift percentages substantially; Dr. Yanki confirmed the data team will drill down by student and subgroup.
The presentation included a discussion of operational choices: this year the district administered some PSSAs paper-and-pencil but the state will require online PSSAs next year; Dr. Yanki said the format change may affect results and urged tracking trends over multiple years. She said she would send the slides to trustees for closer review.
Next steps: staff will investigate the math declines, report back with deeper breakdowns (cohort counts, opt-out rates and subgroup analyses) and provide the slide deck to the board for follow-up questions.
