Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Assessment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Spooner district reports mixed progress on early literacy, proposes testing tweak to capture late-year gains
Summary
At a Committee of the Whole meeting, district staff presented the biannual Achievement Gap Reduction report showing growth in kindergarten-tier instruction but shortfalls in some grade-level benchmarks; staff proposed an additional late-year test to better capture April–May gains required by state testing windows.
District staff presented the Spooner Area School District's biannual Achievement Gap Reduction report, outlining progress and shortfalls in early literacy and math and proposing changes to how growth is measured.
The presenter reviewed program options under the district’s achievement-gap plan — one-to-one tutoring by a licensed teacher, instructional coaching for teachers, or maintaining reduced class-size ratios with targeted small-group instruction — and noted that grade-level teams set literacy and math goals each year. Kindergarten through first-grade literacy aimed for 70% of students to meet end-of-year benchmarks; the presenter said spring testing placed some students in April, which may miss growth that occurs in late April or May under state scheduling rules.
"If you know anything about young children and development…a lot of that work happens in April and May," the presenter said, explaining that state law requires testing within 45 days of the last day of school and that timing can undercount spring growth. Staff proposed adding a secondary test for that measure next year to capture late-year gains.
The report highlighted that tier-one instruction (universal classroom instruction) increased in kindergarten, with a 23-percentage-point improvement from fall to spring and 87% of kindergarten students meeting tier-one benchmarks in spring. Second-grade reading improved from 44% to 61% between fall and spring; third grade showed more modest change. In math, kindergarten met its 70% benchmark (reported at 78%) and first grade was near target (reported at 75%). The presenter said 58% of students showed typical or aggressive math growth across grades tested.
Board members asked clarifying questions about the benchmarks and data; staff indicated they will refine building action plans over the summer and present more detailed goals in the fall. The committee received the report and placed it on file.
