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BCSC reports improvement in third-grade iRead pass rates; district outlines screening and intervention plans
Summary
District staff told the board that 89.3% of third graders passed the statewide iRead assessment (751 of 841 tested), with notable gains for historically underperforming subgroups and 94.7% pass rate reported for Legado students; the district described targeted phonics diagnostics and progress-monitoring strategies to continue gains.
Laura Hack, BCSC director of elementary education, presented district third-grade literacy results and district-level strategies to sustain growth.
Hack said the district tested 841 third-grade students and reported 751 passing iRead, or 89.3% — a 4.3 percentage-point increase from 2024 and 2 percentage points above the state average. "This is attributed to the science of reading instruction and interventions happening in our classrooms and across the state," Hack said.
Administrators highlighted subgroup gains: double-digit percentage-point improvements for students receiving free and reduced lunch and English-language learners, plus a 15.9 percentage-point gain for students with special needs. District presenters credited targeted interventions (Book Buddies, mentor teachers, diagnostic tools such as the core phonics survey) and incremental adoption of IDOE iLearn checkpoints in grades 3–6.
Staff described targeted screening: the district uses NWEA results to select students in K–2 who receive a focused phonics diagnostic (core phonics survey) administered individually to identify specific skill gaps (CVC words, vowel patterns) that teachers then address in targeted small groups.
Board members asked for additional trend data (revenue per student, iLearn performance and math results) and more clarity on transient student tracking; administrators committed to pulling multi-year trend data and consulting the district demographer about unexpected ADM drops.
The presentation closed with recognition of school staff; no formal board action was taken beyond questions and follow-up requests.
