FCPS goal report: ABLE analysis shows access gaps; principals point to advising and targeted pathways

Fairfax County Public Schools staff presented their final Goal 4 work-session report on April 7, outlining how academic intensity and advanced coursework contribute to postsecondary momentum and identifying persistent gaps in access for several student groups.

The presentation, led by assistant superintendent Miss Veil and consultant Dr. Steven Gehring of ABLE, explained the district’s use of a 25-point transcript analysis to measure academic intensity across five core subjects for students with 18 or more credits. Staff said the district tracks three ‘‘momentum’’ metrics — academic intensity, unweighted GPA (with a predictive 3.33 benchmark) and standardized test scores — and uses them to identify students needing support.

Staff shared that 86 percent of last year’s graduating seniors planned to attend college immediately after high school, and 82 percent of the senior cohort completed some advanced coursework or earned CTE completer status. They also reported that 74 percent of students met the ABLE academic-intensity threshold at baseline, but that figure varies substantially by student group.

Dr. Gehring and staff highlighted that multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and Black and Hispanic students are less likely to access or persist in advanced math and science courses. ‘‘We see these declines were due to decreases in successful advanced coursework completion while CTE completer rates increase,’’ Miss Veil said during the presentation.

Principals from four high schools described school-level responses. Amy Goodlow of Chantilly High said targeted advising conversations and expanded pathways (including dual-enrollment precalculus) helped increase persistence: ‘‘We have an increase in 7% of students persisting in math for our rising seniors,’’ she said, adding that about 91 percent of seniors are currently opted into a math course for next year (she clarified later that the measure approaches 98 percent when out-of-cohort graduates and other exceptions are excluded).

Raven Jones of McLean High said the ABLE data helped identify students who were ‘‘ready or highly ready’’ overall but left out large subgroups: ‘‘Only 19 percent of our multilingual learners were identified as ready or highly ready for postsecondary work and only 45 percent of our students with disabilities were ready,’’ she said, noting McLean will add a Spanish-for-heritage-speakers honors course and pilot vertical curriculum teams across feeders to support persistence.

Staff emphasized three system strategies: building a pipeline to rigorous high‑school coursework (including expanding ABLE to middle schools), improving enrollment and advising practices with clearer, family-facing tools, and expanding credential and dual-enrollment options. Miss Veil said ABLE scheduling is rolling out this spring to comprehensive high schools and will expand to middle schools to give future cohorts a full year of impact.

Board members pressed staff on world-language instruction and differentiated approaches for students with disabilities. Board member Miss Marion recounted a personal example of a dyslexic child and said, ‘‘Until we talk about world language instruction, how we’re doing it well, and who’s set up for success, I don’t understand why we continue to measure it.’’ Dr. Reed and Dr. Gehring responded that the research links world-language persistence with four‑year college access and that scaling effective, differentiated instruction will require additional budget commitments and coordination with state and local partners.

Staff noted early signs of change but acknowledged the work is in early stages and requires both programmatic improvements and staffing commitments to reach districtwide goals. The work session ended with board members asking staff for more disaggregated data (for example, Title I vs non‑Title I breakdowns), projected costs to scale programs, and follow-up on long-term outcomes including National Student Clearinghouse tracking of postsecondary enrollment and completion.

There was no board action or vote during the session; staff said they would return with additional data and cost estimates in a future work session.