Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Assessment Results topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Glendale Elementary District reports assessment gains; officials flag state testing-window change
Summary
District staff told the governing board on July 9 that 2026 spring assessments show notable gains — including 3rd‑grade ELA returning to pre‑COVID levels and an ORF fluency increase — while warning that a state law expanding the AASA testing window may push tests into May and complicate planning.
Dr. Jerry Peterson told the Glendale Elementary School District Governing Board on July 9 that spring 2026 assessments show improvements across several grades, singling out 3rd‑grade English language arts as “the highest ELA data has happened in 3rd grade since COVID.” He said the district’s ELA proficiency rose 8 percentage points from 2025 to 2026 while the state’s overall gain was about 3 points.
Peterson, who presented the district’s AASA, i‑Ready and related assessment results, said the district also saw a large rise in oral reading fluency (ORF) performance: “we increased the number of students who got 4 points by a 160% in 1 year.” He said nine of 12 grade/content areas reduced the gap with the state and none showed a widening gap.
Why it matters: the results guide curriculum alignment and staffing plans ahead of fall. Peterson said the district will emphasize vertical alignment so that students who remain in the district show steady proficiency increases as they move grades. The presentation covered subgroup trends, including special education, English‑language learners (ELL) and gifted students, and how those cohorts will be tracked by cohort data rather than single‑year snapshots.
Peterson also described state test and vendor changes that affect local planning. He said AzELa cut scores shifted this year and the state’s reclassification moved more students upward, and he warned that HB 2032 expanded the AASA testing window from four to six weeks. “If you think about six weeks from the second week of April, that now pushes AASA — you could push it into May,” Peterson said, adding that the district is waiting on the Arizona Department of Education to post final dates that will let schools finalize assessment calendars and rolling assessments.
Board members pressed on technical details. When a board member asked why kindergarten shows such high on/above‑grade percentages in i‑Ready, Peterson explained that kindergarten i‑Ready lacks a “below grade level” category, which affects comparisons with older grades. The board also heard that the district intends to reduce some quarterly formative assessments for 1st and 2nd grades and to implement “rolling assessments” aligned to newly mapped K–2 essential standards.
Superintendent Cynthia Segata Jones thanked staff and credited board support for the progress, and board members praised educators and summer professional development activities. Jones said letter grades tied to new cut scores will not be introduced until November, after the state finalizes cut scores.
What’s next: staff will finalize professional development and monitoring calendars in coming weeks, continue cohort tracking for diverse populations, and await ADE guidance on the AASA calendar before locking the district assessment plan.
