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District assessment review: staff report declines on some CERT measures, board discusses ACT readiness and growth metrics
Summary
Miss Butler presented fall CERT/MAP testing data showing mixed results across grades; board and staff emphasized growth as the primary metric, discussed testing format and stamina for ACT, and proposed targeted classroom strategies and teacher supports.
Miss Butler (speaker 3) presented assessment results and norms to the board, walking trustees through reading and math trends, grade‑level comparisons and the limitations of single‑snapshot reporting.
Butler said the district’s CERT/MAP results show mixed performance across grade levels with some areas above national norms and others needing improvement. She cautioned that some testing formats (long single sessions) can depress student performance and recommended breaking assessments into smaller windows for truer class‑level indicators.
"We feel like that quite gives us a more true indicator of where we're going to be," Butler said of a staggered testing approach. Board members and administrators discussed how fall, winter and spring snapshots should be used to track growth rather than relying solely on proficiency percentages.
The board also discussed ACT readiness. Staff noted the ACT is principally a reading‑reasoning assessment with a timed format that can trip students unfamiliar with the structure. Administrators argued for exposing students earlier to ACT‑style questions and practice to build stamina and test‑taking familiarity.
Superintendent‑level administrators emphasized growth as the primary performance indicator and committed to using CERT/MAP data to identify interventions, refine classroom instruction and support teacher planning. Staff noted plans to engage external data consultants for targeted next steps, and the board agreed to continue monitoring growth metrics and interventions.
Ending: Butler’s presentation concluded with an agreement to analyze score spread and variance across grade levels and to return with disaggregated reports and recommended interventions for grades with wider score dispersions.
