USBE specialists walk school leaders through Acadience and RISE data tools and state growth targets

Jared Wright, elementary math and science assessment specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, and Dallas Brooks, elementary English language arts assessment specialist at the Utah State Board of Education, led a virtual training guiding school leaders through end-of-year Acadience/RISE data and the ALO data platform.

The session walked participants through practical steps to compare beginning- and end-of-year cohort performance, use ALO filters and visualizations, and populate the session’s participant notebook. Brooks explained the "Pathways of Progress" approach, which compares students who share the same beginning-of-year composite score to see how they distributed across five end-of-year outcome bands (well below, below, typical, above, well above). "The state growth goal is 60% of students making typical or better growth," Brooks said, noting that 60% is a minimum target and schools should aim higher.

Wright demonstrated ALO features that show cohort movement with a color-coded visualization and hover details revealing counts and percentages; he advised teachers to use the platform’s view-details or print-to-PDF options if they need static records. Wright and Brooks guided attendees through a hands-on activity using participant-notebook tables to record student movement by benchmark category and to evaluate the effectiveness of core instruction and supplemental interventions.

Brooks addressed special-education considerations, saying the USBE team works with Tracy Gulley on accommodations for Acadience and recommending that schools align analyses to students’ IEP goals: "We would be happy to put Tracy's email in the chat so you can reach out to Tracy," Brooks said. She added that for state reporting the system counts only students who have a beginning-of-year composite score.

Brooks also summarized the state’s statutory early-literacy objective tied to Senate Bill 241: "This goal is that 80 percent of students will be reading on grade level or at benchmark on the end-of-year grade 3 reading assessment by 07/01/2030," she said. Wright and Brooks contrasted that longer-term SB241 benchmark with the shorter-term Pathways growth metric used to measure typical or better progress across grades.

The training included breakout-room consultations where attendees shared priorities and peer suggestions for next-year goals. Participants were directed to page 16 of the participant notebook to set 'stars and stairs' goals and were asked to complete a feedback survey for relicensure credit; staff noted the Midas platform is migrating to a new USBE Altitude platform and credits will post mid-July. The session concluded with staff offering follow-up support for data questions.

The workshop provided practical, procedural guidance for district and school leaders to interpret cohort movement, check intervention effectiveness, and set data-informed goals; next procedural steps included completing the participant notebook, filing the feedback survey, and contacting USBE staff for follow-up help.