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Pocahontas board details heavy testing season and brings in consultants to raise classroom rigor
Summary
Board members were briefed on midyear interims and a plan to use Core Consulting to raise instruction to a higher depth-of-knowledge; administrators also reported technology problems that affected about 5% of assessments, potentially triggering additional student evaluations.
Dr. ARogle opened the meeting by outlining a packed midyear testing calendar and a district effort to accelerate learning for students in the bottom quartile. He said the district is administering midyear Atlas interims and I‑Ready checks across elementary and secondary grades, with PSAT in March, ACTs for 11th graders in late February and WorkKeys for seniors at the end of March.
"Those bottom quartile kids are worth in essence double the points when we get to the summitive," Dr. ARogle said, explaining why the district is prioritizing growth for the lowest 25% of testers. He told the board teachers will analyze results to target interventions and that growth among those students is especially important for the district’s ESSA measures.
Dr. ARogle said the district has contracted Core Consulting to support elementary instruction after the state assigned assistance. "They will spend 15 days a piece through May — a total of 30 days — alternating visits," Sean told the board, describing a schedule that includes a joint leadership day on the 21st for coordinated walkthroughs. Sean said consultant work will emphasize modeling lessons, raising assessments to a minimum of level‑three depth of knowledge and aligning observation tools among partners (the co‑op and district leadership).
Administrators also reported technology problems during testing that have affected scores. Dr. ARogle said early interims revealed issues — failing microphones, broken Chromebooks and headsets — that resulted in some students receiving zero scores on oral reading fluency checks. He estimated the problem affected roughly 5% of testers and warned that erroneous low scores can trigger follow‑up evaluations, such as dyslexia screening.
School leaders said they are addressing both instructional practice and device reliability: increasing coaching and modeling for novice teachers while troubleshooting Chromebook and audio issues before larger summative assessments. The board did not take action on instructional staffing at the meeting but approved routine items later in the agenda.
