Talbot County Public Schools reports mixed MAP, DIBELS gains as new strategic-plan dashboard is rolled out

Dr. Apakai told the board on June 15 that Talbot County Public Schools will publish a new strategic-plan dashboard this summer to show progress on five district priorities and end-of-year assessment data. "This will also be a dashboard that we will get on the website this summer so that, everyone can see where we are with the various priorities," she said.

The presentation focused on Priority 1, academic achievement, and described how the district uses MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) for reading and math and DIBELS for early-literacy screening. Dr. Apakai explained MAP is adaptive and used as a predictor of state MCAP performance: "MAP is, well, you could see it it ramps up... it could give a more accurate picture as to where your level is." Board members asked how MAP compares with other screeners and whether state changes might alter the district's internal measures.

Staff walked trustees through grade-level charts showing beginning-, mid- and end-of-year results. The district reported a roughly 10.8 percent overall gain from beginning to end in the internal measures for certain cohorts and that kindergarteners at or above the expected levels rose from 157 at entry to 213 by year'end on DIBELS. Officials stressed those figures reflect proficiency snapshots and that MAP also produces growth measures that teachers use to target instruction. "We get, immediate data... some schools might finish it sooner than others, and they use that data immediately," a staff presenter said, describing how classroom teams use reports to set growth targets and interventions.

Board members raised concern about middle-school results after seeing limited growth in grades 6'8. Dr. Apakai said the pattern is common across the region and linked to differences in supports between elementary and middle schools. She pointed to an upcoming regional professional-development session for middle-school administrators and said schools are convening MTSS teams to identify and address gaps.

Trustees asked for cohort-level, apples-to-apples comparisons that follow the same students year-to-year; staff agreed to produce diagonal (cohort) views to show performance of the same students across consecutive years. The presentation concluded with a pledge to compare internal MAP data to incoming MCAP results and to publish the dashboard for public review.

The district will revisit several follow-up items at a leadership retreat and in department work sessions this summer, including: a cohort analysis of MAP scores, more detail on how the state approves internal screeners, stronger middle-school interventions and school-level uses of MTSS to address students approaching chronic absenteeism.