Hardy County benchmarks show across‑the‑board improvement; math still lags reading

Bonnie, a district staff member who presented the benchmark report, told the board that every grade level showed growth between the first and second benchmarks and that overall county attendance is about 1 percentage point higher than at the same time last year.

The presentation emphasized that growth is occurring across grade levels even as math scores remain slightly lower than reading. ‘‘Every single grade level did increase from first Benchmark to Second Benchmark,’’ Bonnie said, adding that the county still has ‘‘high percentages of special education and ELL students in that lowest category’’ and that schools continue to use targeted intervention plans and specialists to support those learners.

Bonnie singled out a previous anomaly in 10th‑grade math at two high schools that ‘‘plummeted’’ on the second benchmark last year; she said the drop did not reappear this year but staff do not know whether the prior falloff was caused by the test, course placements or other factors. She urged board members and teachers to continue reviewing item‑level data and to use the testing site's authoring features to create targeted practice questions.

The presentation also noted fewer behavioral incidents this year and continuing emphasis on mental‑health and social‑emotional learning as factors that affect academic performance. Board members were offered a full data packet and encouraged to email Bonnie with follow‑up questions and requests for additional breakdowns.

Board members did not take action on the benchmark report itself; staff said they will return with additional summaries and can present deeper analysis at a future meeting.