Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Assessment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Blackstone‑Millville reviews I‑Ready diagnostics, targets writing and geometry gaps
Summary
At its Oct. 23 meeting the Blackstone‑Millville School Committee reviewed first‑year I‑Ready diagnostic results showing strengths in phonics and number sense but recurring gaps in nonfiction reading comprehension and geometry; the district outlined school improvement strategies including scaffolded writing, building‑thinking classrooms and targeted interventions for multilingual learners and special education students.
Blackstone‑Millville school leaders presented new districtwide I‑Ready diagnostics and related school improvement plans at the Oct. 23 school committee meeting, reporting strengths in phonological awareness and early math while flagging persistent weaknesses in informational‑text comprehension and geometry.
Interim Superintendent Jill Pilgalerani opened the data night by saying the district remains on a “moderate progress” target while rolling out the I‑Ready diagnostic as a year‑round tool for grouping, intervention and progress monitoring. Elementary staff cited clear gains in early literacy: Rebecca Harp, a second‑grade teacher, said, “we scored pretty high in the phonological awareness and the high frequency words and we’re attributing that to our three or four years work with the early literacy grant.”
School teams presented results and next steps by level. At the early‑childhood campus presenters credited phonics work for improvements but noted online test navigation issues for K–1 students and said they will add demos and practice before future tests. Elementary leaders also called out vocabulary and open‑response writing as areas for targeted work.
Middle‑school presenters described strong performance in number sense and algebraic thinking but continued gaps in measurement and geometry. Staff said they are expanding the district’s ‘‘building thinking classrooms’’ approach so students solve problems visibly and explain reasoning, and they plan PLC calibration and common assessments to align instruction across grade bands.
At the high school, staff reported high relative performance in number and operations for grades 9–10 and described a pilot math intervention class for eighth graders identified as the most behind. The high school also highlighted expanded AP participation: staff reported a 76% AP exam passing rate across administered exams and growth in AP course offerings and student registration.
District leaders said interventions will emphasize three priorities: scaffolded writing across content areas (using a common writing rubric), targeted vocabulary instruction linked to content, and tiered MTSS interventions monitored every 6–8 weeks using I‑Ready and standards‑mastery checks. Leaders also provided subgroup counts in response to questions (multilingual learner counts by grade and special‑education enrollment by grade were supplied in the packet).
Why it matters: District staff linked reading and language skill gaps to achievement across subjects and described coordinated instructional changes intended to improve long‑term outcomes. The committee did not take any policy votes tied to the accountability data at the meeting; presenters said many operational steps (scheduling, PD and intervention blocks) will roll out this school year.
What’s next: School leadership will present FY27 budget priorities in December and the committee will continue monitoring intervention progress and midyear diagnostic checks to assess whether the new supports are moving student performance.
