Board reviews mastery standards, intervention inventory and chronic absenteeism; privacy concerns raised about i‑Ready

Dr. Wright, reporting for the Teaching & Learning Committee, told the board the committee reviewed summer assignments, the final exams schedule and a district spreadsheet that inventories interventions and funding and includes an evaluation rubric used by administrators to assess program effectiveness.

"I encourage you to review [the spreadsheet]," Dr. Wright said, describing the rubric as helpful for understanding where interventions occur and how they are evaluated. She noted the district's summer-reading approach mixes common reading experiences with significant student choice.

The discussion moved to how the district defines mastery. A district speaker said that the standards-based approach defines "meeting standards" as 80 to 100 and that "exceeding standards" reflects work beyond grade-level expectations. Board members asked what evidence teachers use; the administration said teachers and supervisors use a range of evidence — homework, quizzes, tests and other work — to determine whether students meet standards.

Board members pressed for more outcome-focused analysis of interventions. One member asked for subgroup-by-subgroup outcome reporting, including which interventions produced measurable growth and their costs, saying that the district's intervention inventory was valuable but that the next step should be clarity on actual academic results.

The board also discussed chronic absenteeism. Members cited the district's reporting that roughly 500 students (about 7.3% of enrollment) met the chronic-absenteeism criteria and noted the rate has fallen by about half since 2021, when it was close to 15%.

A board member raised a recent class-action lawsuit involving Curriculum Associates, the vendor for the i‑Ready program, saying the litigation alleges improper collection or release of student information. The member characterized the matter as primarily a privacy issue and said the district had no immediate program-use concern.

A staff member clarified that the suit pertains to alleged unauthorized release of certain information, that it is a class action that parents may join, and that opt-out provisions are available; the staff member said such opt-outs are a parental decision and not a district action.

Next steps the board requested included more detailed, subgroup-level outcomes tied to individual interventions, cost information, and clearer presentation of the evidence teachers use when assigning standards-based grades. The committee said it will continue assessing programs and share additional data in future reports.

The meeting moved on after these follow-ups were requested; no formal action was taken on any specific intervention or program at this session.