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Assessment review: Menands highlights large gaps for students with disabilities and a middle-school performance dip
Summary
Mrs. Wylie presented state-assessment results showing district ELA proficiency at 64% and math at about 62%; she flagged a nearly 40–point persistent deficit for students with disabilities and a marked drop in proficiency from grades 3–5 to grades 6–8, and recommended targeted, systemwide interventions.
At the Menands Union Free School District board meeting, Mrs. Wylie presented a breakdown of recent state-assessment results and urged targeted interventions for students with the greatest academic need.
Wylie reported a districtwide ELA proficiency of about 64% with significant gains for English learners (EL/ENL) and demonstrable growth among Black students. She said these gains are the result of sustained literacy work and new curriculum adoption in earlier grades. “Our trend is that we have growth in the 3–5 range and a dip in 6–8,” Wylie said, pointing to a need to better bridge fifth- to sixth-grade instruction.
The presentation singled out students with disabilities (SWD) as an urgent priority: Wylie said SWD performance remains roughly 35–40 points below the district average in both ELA and math and has shown little change over the reporting period. She attributed part of the ELA gains to culturally responsive curriculum and classroom engagement strategies and said similar intentional, systemwide approaches are required in math. For math, the district’s overall score was about 62% and relatively stable, but racial and economic disparities persist; Wylie emphasized the need for acceleration (not only remediation) across tiered instruction and stronger tier-one instruction.
Specific steps Wylie proposed include using MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) data and targeted BOCES supports to identify the skills students are missing, auditing middle-school literacy and math pacing and curriculum, and deploying structured interventions that move students from level one to level two and ultimately to proficiency. She also recommended examining summer and after‑school program models with redesigned content to attract and retain middle-school students who need acceleration rather than traditional remedial approaches.
Wylie noted that new math curriculum components (including a daily fluency practice) are intended to build number sense and support long-term gains, but said year-one results will need monitoring. Board members asked for the same grade-band graphs for math that were shown for ELA and discussed how to engage families and retool summer programming to better target older students.
Wylie closed by noting that the district’s accelerated high-school course participation (Earth Science, Algebra, Spanish II) shows broad demographic representation and that the school’s work on cultural relevance has been one driver of ELA gains. The board requested follow-up materials and more granular BOCES breakdowns at the next meeting.
