Benchmark assessment results for Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) have mostly improved from the fall to winter of the 2021-22 school year, according to a recent report presented to the district’s board.
Robert Hagstrom, FUSD’s director of research and assessment, presented the results at FUSD’s board meeting Tuesday.
“This time, we have a little bit of good news,” Hagstrom said. “…Not every area looks like we wanted them to, but a lot of them do. I’m really happy to see that our students are growing. We know we had learning loss, but we know that we can help bring them where they’re supposed to be.”
Mary K. Walton, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, presented measures the district was taking to respond.
The presentation focused on kindergarten through eighth-grade results from AIMSWeb Plus and Study Island assessments in math and English language arts (ELA), which are administered three times throughout the school year. Hagstrom and Walton had presented results from the fall tests from the beginning of the year at the board’s Oct. 26 meetings.
People are also reading…
The AIMSWeb benchmark gives a composite percentile score for a series of assessments taken by elementary students (grades K-5). The number of students falling into higher percentiles rose as the number falling into lower percentiles decreased — which Hagstrom said was a good sign.
“For every grade level except for second grade in math, we’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “…We want to see that movement through the year.”
Elementary schools in the district continue to have weekly collaborative team meetings and provide information to families on student progress as part of their intervention strategies, Walton said.
FUSD has also added measures to address learning loss this semester, many focused on teacher training.
“To address learning loss, it’s not just finding out the kids that need it and sending them to a tier two or tier three intervention like we’ve had in the past. We’ve needed to strengthen our tier one, which is in the classroom,” she said.
New professional development that Walton mentioned included understanding Dreambox data, math recovery (currently only at Kinsey and Thomas elementary schools, though its planned to expand to other sites next year) and reading.
She said elementary school principals in the district had formed a reading task force that includes interventional specialists. The task force meets monthly to support research resources and best practices in reading and to develop a professional development plan.
“You can’t just hand over a program that has shown good research somewhere if you don’t have the pedagogy and instructional value behind it,” she said.
When asked about mask-related challenges for students in speech and language therapy, Susan Smith, the district’s director of equity, inclusion and support, said it could be “a struggle.”
“Students are struggling with speech and language therapy because it’s hard to be able to produce the sounds, for the students to see the teacher and the teacher to see the student,” she said. “…Teachers are doing the best they can to provide those services, but it is a barrier.”
Masks with clear sections are used for these lessons (yet there are some issues with fogging) and some students have an exception to the district’s mandate that allows them to wear face shields during speech therapy, Smith said.
How COVID-19 Is , Negatively Affecting Early Education. CNN reports that as the Omicron variant continues to infect large swaths of the global population, officials say schoolchildren are experiencing increased health issues. CNN reports that as the Omicron variant continues to infect large swaths of the global population, officials say schoolchildren are experiencing increased health issues. It has been such a tumultuous few years with so much uncertainty, , Phyllis Fagell, school counselor in Washington, DC, via CNN. … so much disruption, so much dashed optimism at various points. , Phyllis Fagell, school counselor in Washington, DC, via CNN. According to data company Burbio, almost 3,500 schools in the United States have returned to remote learning. A recent study, published in ‘JAMA Pediatrics,’ found that the uncertainty surrounding school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on children. The research found children have increased chances of experiencing mental and physical health problems as a result of lockdowns and school closures. Researchers say pandemic safety measures have made children more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. As a result of shuttered schools, children of poorer families may also experience food insecurity. There’s a lot that goes into the fabric of a school day that builds a community around the child that they’ve not been able to fully take advantage of over the last couple of years. , dr David Rubin, director of Population Health Innovation Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, via CNN. The toll that school closures and social isolation has had on kid’s mental health cannot be overstated. , dr Daniell Dooley, medical director at Children’s National Hospital, via CNN
Arizona’s standardized test (the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, or AASA) will have an oral reading fluency portion for the first time in the spring, data Hagstrom said will be “really interesting” to analyze.
Study Island results also measure a composite of assessment scores — this time for students in grades six through eight. These tests are meant to show “a student’s progress towards a goal,” meaning that the assessments have the same level of difficulty based on where students should be at the end of the year.
The district’s math results for the winter are “really what we want to see,” Hagstrom said. Each grade level’s score had improved from the fall assessment.
ELA results were more mixed, with sixth- and eighth-grade scores falling slightly from the fall results and seventh-grade scores rising. The subject is less linear than math, and Hagstrom said the end-of-year benchmark should give a better sense of where things stand. Some standards measured by this benchmark possibly haven’t been covered yet, for example.
“I’m hopeful that we’re going to see a U-shaped curve between fall and winter, and then in spring we’ll see that come back up because the standards should have all been presented by then,” Hagstrom said.
FUSD also plans to check the assessment’s measures to ensure each benchmark has the same standards and level of difficulty over the course of the year. If they all line up, the next step is to check instruction, a school-level analysis already underway in parts of the district, Hagstrom said.
“I know that the instructional specialists and principals in a lot of cases are already doing that analysis,” he said. “They’re doing that reflection and having those conversations and trying to figure out what works best for those students, for those grade levels.”
FUSD’s two middle schools, Mount Elden and Sinagua, have dedicated advisory periods for student interventions. Like the elementary schools, their response includes communication with families as well as meetings with administration and instructional specialists on the goals and direction of intervention.
“Instructional Practices [are] what really strengthens and changes the trajectory of our students’ progress,” Walton said.
The full presentation can be seen on the district’s Vimeo and a final round of benchmarks for the 2021-22 school year will take place in May.
Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.
Comments are closed.