Board to pilot Benchmark Advance in 14 classrooms; district negotiated lower pilot cost

The Marcellus Central School District will pilot Benchmark Advance in 14 kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms for the 2025— 26 school year, Assistant Superintendent Bob told the board on June 2.

Bob said the district is concluding a shorter Wonders pilot and will run a full, yearlong Benchmark Advance pilot in the same 14 classrooms, with teachers teaching two units and participating in a data study. The study will use three times-a-year benchmarking data and additional sources; Bob said Benchmarks analytics partner will work with Johns Hopkins University to compare pilot and nonpilot classrooms in order to measure impact.

The assistant superintendent said the district negotiated an initial market price of about $69,000 down to roughly $3,400 for the pilot by working with another local district and assembling a consortium through BOCES. He said teachers volunteered to participate: grade-level specialists recruited one colleague so the pilot includes two teachers per grade for stronger collaboration.

Elementary science materials will also change: the district plans to move K—4 to Mystery Science for faster, more manageable hands-on units while keeping current kits for grades 5— that fit departmentalized models. Training for pilot teachers is scheduled for early August, and eight pallets of materials are expected to arrive before students return.

Administrators said families will be notified this summer if their child is enrolled in a pilot classroom and invited to ask questions of teachers, principals or the assistant superintendent.