Bay City ISD officials say new classroom assessments complicate comparisons but show reading and math gains

Lenny Roberts, principal, and campus teachers told the Bay City Independent School District board on March 23 that recent in-class assessments used in a trial year are not aligned with state measures, but they said teacher interventions and pre-K preparation helped produce notable early-grade gains.

District presenters cautioned that the assessment tool currently in use is a field test whose item weights and scoring may change, which limits year-to-year comparisons. "This is a trial year," a presenter said, adding that the vendor has offered a three-year license and that staff are working with the vendor and data scientists to resolve glitches and weighting questions.

Why it matters: Trustees heard that reading- and math-related scores can look inconsistent because of curriculum timing and assessment design. Campus staff argued that the district's BlueLine curriculum introduces explicit letter-name instruction later in the year, which depresses early kindergarten assessment results even when classroom instruction is rigorous.

Campus teacher Cherry reported that district kindergarten reading results rose from about 29% to about 45% on the in-class measure. "Right now, we're sitting at 45," Cherry said, noting that pre-K preparation and targeted interventions contributed to the increase. School leaders urged caution in interpreting the figures because the BlueLine curriculum delays letter-name instruction until December and the in-class assessment focuses heavily on sound-based items early in the year.

Staff also described sizable reported gains on the math field test in some grades — for example, a cited increase from about 21% to about 51% — while warning that planned weighting changes could alter relative scores next year. "We're still working on getting some clarification," a presenter said about which test items will be scored and how weights will be applied.

Principals emphasized classroom observations and regional walkthroughs as supporting evidence that student skill is stronger than some assessment snapshots suggest. Roberts told trustees that teachers were "doing a great job in the classroom" and urged the board to "trust the process" while staff refine how assessment data are interpreted and reported.

What’s next: Campus teams said they will keep working with regional staff, data scientists and the assessment vendor; staff plan additional reading scaffolding and summer follow-ups and will present updated, verified data to the board when available.

All quotes and figures are taken from presenters and campus staff during the March 23 board meeting.