Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Achievement Equity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District report: growth data shows reading gains but persistent proficiency and discipline gaps
Summary
District staff told the board that growth measures show more even gains across demographic groups while proficiency gaps remain for Latino and indigenous students; suspension rates for BIPOC students remain disproportionately higher (3.14% vs. 1.25%).
Isis Buchanan, director of educational equity, and colleagues presented the Student Performance and Achievement Committee’s analysis of academic and disciplinary data from the 2024–25 and 2025 assessment cycles.
Buchanan and Amina Aftadol said Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) reading proficiency still shows notable gaps for Latino students and other students of color, but growth measures using interim assessment data show more uniform typical and aggressive growth across groups. The district plans to roll out a Read Act–aligned comprehensive literacy curriculum for grades 3–5 and add site instructional coaches to strengthen tier-one literacy supports.
On math, presenters said proficiency disparities persist—particularly for Latino and Native students—but flagged promising midyear results from Exact Path, an online math supplement used in middle schools, where winter growth exceeded vendor targets for students who completed program indicators. The district also described efforts to review high-school course sequences and create additional entry points into advanced math pathways earlier in students’ careers.
The report addressed discipline disproportionality: semester-one 2025–26 suspension rates were 3.14% for BIPOC students and 1.25% for white students, a relative disparity presenters described as roughly 150% driven by spikes at a small number of sites. Officials said existing MTSS, positive behavior supports, and non-exclusionary discipline are working in most sites; the district will increase focused, data-informed administrative oversight at sites showing significant disparities.
Presenters reviewed English language acquisition growth and WIDA proficiency band movement, reporting district growth (28.4% moving toward targets) slightly above the Minnesota state average. They noted enrollment stability among multilingual learners with a small decline in newcomers and the plan to add ML staff and embed EL strategies across classrooms.
Board members were given next-step implementation items—literacy rollout, targeted site interventions for discipline gaps, and curriculum reviews for mathematics—and no board action was taken at this meeting.
