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District reviews single-subject acceleration process; fewer than 10 students found eligible
Summary
District staff described revisions to the single-subject acceleration process required by state law, including expanded review criteria and additional curriculum-based measures; after triangulation of assessments fewer than 10 students (grades 2'07) were found eligible and no K— students were advanced this year.
Wilmette SD 39 staff on June 8 presented an update on the district's single-subject acceleration procedures and outcomes under the state Accelerated Placement Act.
The district described a revised, multi-step process this spring: staff notified families of potential candidacy based on NWEA MAP thresholds (students at or above the 99th percentile of the next grade on two of the last three MAP administrations were flagged for notification), allowed families to apply for review, and then triangulated data with additional measures including cognitive-ability testing (KOGAT), curriculum-based measures (CommonLit, collaborative classroom curriculum checks, end-of-year math assessments) and prior-year AR scores when available.
Staff said about 78 students in grades 2'07 participated in the evaluation process (28 identified by February outreach and 50 additional family-request reviews or watch-list entries). After full review, fewer than 10 students were determined eligible for single-subject acceleration; none of the kindergarten-to-first-grade requests were found eligible. District staff emphasized that curriculum-based measures proved rigorous and that many near-threshold students represent "high-readiness learners" who need differentiated instruction even if they do not meet the narrow acceleration criteria.
Staff outlined next steps: refine the K— process to align with the second-through-seventh-grade protocol, continue to support high-readiness learners in classrooms and specialist programs, and convene the acceleration committee in the fall to consider any process improvements.
