Primary grades drove most literacy and math gains, board hears in Vancouver School District update

Janelle Ephraim, interim associate superintendent for the Vancouver School District, opened the board’s June 16 study session by tying the presentation to the district’s strategic-plan goals and the board’s role in monitoring student performance.

Chris (Presenter) summarized end-of-year screening and interim-assessment results for elementary students and described the district’s balanced-assessment approach. “From beginning of year to end of year, our kindergartners who were performing at or above benchmark increased by 25%,” Chris said, adding that 1st graders increased by about 15% and 2nd graders by about 9%.

The report separated two literacy measures used across the system. DIBELS served as the universal screener and showed the largest gains in primary grades; Lectura, used for dual-language Spanish programs, showed similar but distinct trends. Chris clarified that Lectura is Spanish-only and that there is no Chinese counterpart.

Districtwide movement within performance bands was mixed: Chris reported that 38% of students began the year in the “well below” band and that of those students 57% remained in that band at year-end while measurable shares moved up one or more bands (17% to “below,” 19% to “at,” and 7% to “above”). He told the board that, while band movement provides useful context, school-level PLCs and teacher reports are where the data become actionable.

Board member Kyle raised concern about students shifting backward in upper elementary grades: “This page in particular, though, is a little bit more alarming to me as we look at the yellow population of students that are below shifting backwards,” he said, and asked whether schools are receiving building-level reports. Chris said teacher reports are used and that administrators will share these data in August as schools plan improvement work.

Staff highlighted classroom practices and teacher-led interventions as examples of effective work. Chris pointed to a Washington Elementary 2nd-grade teacher who used structured literacy routines, daily 120 minutes of instruction and frequent progress monitoring; he called the teacher’s approach “design, through structures and a real commitment to students.” The presentation also noted work such as counting-collections routines and targeted PLC-driven unit planning that district leaders expect to scale.

Why it matters: The district framed the results as evidence that early-grade investments and PLC practices can move students, while signaling continued gaps in later elementary grades and among some equity groups. Staff said the data will guide professional learning, interim-assessment alignment and school improvement planning over the summer and into 2026–27.

What’s next: Staff said they will continue school-level reporting and PLC supports, refine interim and screening schedules, and use teacher-facing reports to align instruction and intervention before the next school year.