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Carlsbad Unified reviews mixed 2023–24 LCAP results and moves to MDTP for high‑school math
Summary
Board presentations showed a district‑level CAASPP/SBAC preliminary proficiency of 71.4% (math 62%), highlighted gains from MTSS interventions and AP pass rates, and trustees agreed to replace STAR with MDTP for broader high‑school math assessment coverage while debating how to interpret one‑year swings.
Trustees for the Carlsbad Unified School District on Sept. 11 reviewed supplemental 2023–24 LCAP data and debated how best to measure high‑school math outcomes.
Superintendent Dr. Churchill and staff summarized data staff said remain embargoed at the state level but are available for local planning. Dr. NY told the board, “Overall as a district, we were at 71.4%,” and noted the district missed its 75.5% target; math proficiency was reported at about 62% and science at 58.2%.
Why it matters: the board is in year two of its three‑year Forward Together strategic plan and trustees framed the results as part of a multi‑indicator accountability system. Staff highlighted gains tied to the district’s MTSS (multi‑tiered system of supports) efforts, including pockets of double‑digit growth at specified elementary sites and an AP pass rate the district called its highest in more than a decade.
A key change approved by the board’s staff recommendation was adopting the MDTP diagnostic for high‑school math reporting. Staff described MDTP as course‑specific and able to test students beyond Algebra II, covering courses such as precalculus, statistics and calculus; staff said it will provide a baseline in the fall and a proficiency target to measure percent proficient, rather than a fall‑to‑spring growth metric that STAR previously supported. "MDTP will give us a much better picture of how well all of our high‑school students are doing," a staff presenter said during the discussion.
Trustees and public speakers pressed staff on interpretation, comparability and timing. Trustee Pearson and others asked whether MDTP results will be reported in a way that keeps year‑to‑year comparisons meaningful; staff responded that percent‑proficient targets will be retained and that the district will publish baseline/endpoint MDTP measures analogous to STAR reporting. Public commenters urged caution in treating a single year as a trend and reminded the board of events—school lockdowns and testing disruptions—that they said could affect scores. Teacher and parent commenters also emphasized that test scores are one indicator among many: "There is more to a student and school than a test score," Katrina Wiik, a teacher and parent, told the board during public comment.
Board discussion also covered MTSS staffing expansion to middle and high schools, summer credit recovery enrollments and the district’s plans to align perception (Kelvin) surveys with academic measures. Board members asked staff to return with additional disaggregated and cohort data, and to explore matched cohort Kelvin-to-academic comparisons by the November meeting.
What happens next: staff will finalize MDTP implementation language in the LCAP documents and return with more disaggregated analyses and follow‑up material requested by trustees. Public comment and trustee questions will be included in future LCAP updates.
