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Dorchester 02 reports midyear MAP gains, explains how district is using data to target instruction
Summary
District staff told the board the winter-to-fall MAP growth data show notable gains, especially in math, and explained how conditional-growth measures and quarterly data meetings are being used to identify supports and professional development for teachers.
District assessment staff presented a midyear "pulse check" on student growth at the Feb. 24 Dorchester 02 board meeting, reporting notable gains in mathematics and steady progress in English/language arts while outlining how the district is translating MAP results into targeted supports.
"We're making some larger gains than we've made in the past," said Thad Schmincke, describing fall-to-winter MAP Growth trends and the district’s use of conditional-growth measures to compare students across grade levels. He provided correlation coefficients (about 0.83–0.87 for math and ELA) to show how MAP results align with state SC Ready outcomes in the district’s internal analysis.
Board members probed grade-level alignment and asked whether MAP predicts SC Ready equally across grades. Schmincke said the district’s internal studies cover grades three through eight and acknowledged complications at early grades where state comparisons are limited.
Katie Barker described concrete steps the district is taking with the data: quarterly principal data meetings to develop action plans, professional-development coaching and co-teaching models where needed, and school-level goal-setting to translate MAP reports into specific classroom interventions. "We used to just look kind of at where are we; now we're digging in to see, did we grow enough?" she said.
Board members framed several follow-up questions about resource needs and whether the district has adequate staff for in-class coaching; Barker and other staff said they currently have capacity but noted deeper, faster interventions would require additional personnel.
The presentation closed with staff saying MAP continues to be used as a formative tool (administered three times per year) to guide MTSS, targeted instruction and preparations for spring SC Ready testing.
