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ASD math proficiency report: district cites MAP norm change and urges focus on tier‑one instruction
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Bryant and district staff told the board the district's winter MAP growth uptick largely reflects updated national norms; the board pressed for disaggregated subgroup data and measures to ensure high‑quality tier‑one instruction and participation across optional/charter programs.
The Anchorage School District presented interim goal monitoring on math proficiency at the March 17 meeting, with district leaders saying a significant factor in recent apparent gains is an update to the MAP Growth norms used to benchmark students nationally.
Dr. Bryant and math leaders told the board that the MAP vendor updated its norms to reflect post‑COVID national student performance. "They were both accurate, but the previous norms were comparing to student populations pre‑COVID and the new norms are comparing to the student population post‑COVID," a district presenter said. The change means some increases in percent of students above benchmark reflect the new national comparison rather than a sudden jump in local instruction quality.
Board members asked for additional context and disaggregated data. Member Lessons said the board needs to account for recent class‑size increases and staffing reductions when evaluating growth targets; Member Higgins requested school‑level comparisons for cohorts that moved from sixth grade in elementary to middle school. The administration described multiple district initiatives — implementation/learning walks, a 'high growth math' observational project, strengthened MTSS and attention to English language development — as central to sustaining growth.
On participation, the administration said neighborhood elementary and middle schools have participation rates above 90%, while some correspondence or homeschool‑style optional programs have much lower participation (single‑digit percentages in some cases), which can complicate comparisons across programs.
The board asked for more targeted reports on subgroup growth (special education, English Learners, Alaska Native/Alaska Native American Indian students) at future goal monitoring sessions. Superintendent Dr. Bryant said reading‑goal monitoring (K–1 and grade 2) will be presented at the next meeting.
The district framed the findings as cautious progress: updated norms explain part of the gains, but the administration emphasized sustained, high‑quality tier‑one instruction and timely MTSS interventions as the path to further improvement.
