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Toltec presenters flag flat proficiency patterns in grades 3'8; 8th-grade science showed notable gains
Summary
District curriculum staff reviewed spring assessment attachments for grades 3'8 (science tested in grades 5 and 8) and said cohort and percentage graphs show some movement but largely similar proficiency distributions year to year; the presenter highlighted a significant shift in 8th-grade science proficiency.
Toltec School District curriculum staff presented spring assessment data for grades 3 through 8 in math and English/language arts and noted that science testing occurs in grades 5 and 8.
The presenter explained three linked visuals: (1) raw counts of students who took assessments by year, (2) percentage comparisons to account for changing cohort sizes, and (3) cohort growth comparisons showing how the same group performed from one tested year to the next. "You're going to see there's the key that I'm noticing with this ' which I find kind of interesting ' is that we're seeing some movement but then in a lot of it is that we're kind of seeing the same pattern," the curriculum presenter said while reviewing the graphs.
The presenter called out that 8th-grade science showed a measurable improvement: several students moved from minimally proficient to proficient in that cohort. For other grades and subjects, the presenter said the distribution of minimally, partially and highly proficient students often remained similar year-over-year, and emphasized the need for classroom adjustments to shift those patterns.
The presenter noted that the transcript of the attachments shows zeros in 2022'23 for kindergarten through second grade because those grades are not state-tested; this affects baseline comparisons for third grade cohorts. Staff suggested the district will continue to track cohort progression and bring further data back to the board to illustrate the effect of interventions.
No specific numeric proficiency rates by grade and subject were provided in the meeting transcript beyond the presenter's descriptions; the raw attachments were referenced as part of the board packet but not read in their entirety during the discussion.
