Board hears sharp split over McGraw Hill math pilot; administrators to verify vendor fixes and continue elementary use

Administrators and teachers on April 18 described mixed results from a district pilot of a McGraw Hill math suite (ALEKS/ALEKS Adventure, Reveal and MH Plus) and urged a cautious, evidence-driven next step.

"Our math scores definitely had flatlined a little bit," an administrator summarized in the presentation of the survey results, pointing to district and statewide trends and why the district sought an off-the-shelf program in addition to locally developed materials. The administration said the pilot surfaced three major technical problem areas — incorrect or tricky assessment language on exit slips, poor primary-level text-to-speech behavior and the platformdifficulty capturing partial credit on multistep problems.

Those technical problems were central to the board discussion. "If a student gets three of four steps right and the system marks the whole answer wrong, that undermines teacher trust in the data," the district said during the presentation. Administrators told the board the vendorchief technical officer visited classrooms and reported recent improvements, especially to text-to-speech; the district said it will independently validate those fixes in classrooms before making any long-term procurement commitments.

The teacher survey showed a clear elementary/secondary split: elementary teachers generally reported higher satisfaction and student engagement with the ALEKS Adventure game-based module; multiple secondary teachers reported that the digital platformas currently implementedwas "not user friendly" and produced unreliable assessment data. Administrators said some of those implementation issues stemmed from rollout practices (teachers learning a new instructional approach at the same time they were learning new software).

Board members pressed the administration on remedies and accountability. Several members said they were encouraged by positive elementary feedback but alarmed at secondary reports that students were being assigned work before teachers had instructed that content. "Itdoesn't feel like McGraw Hill is the right choice for our secondary students," a board member said, arguing the district should explore alternatives for older students while protecting gains at the elementary level.

Administration recommended a three-part approach: verify vendor fixes at classroom scale rather than accepting vendor assertions; continue elementary use through 2026–27 while re-surveying students in May; and form a teacher-led work group to explore supplemental or alternative tools for secondary instruction. The administration also proposed targeted professional learning this summer to support consistent implementation across grade levels.

Next steps agreed by the board and administration: the district will validate the vendor's fixes in classrooms, run a brief student survey in May, convene K–12 teachers to evaluate supplemental options, and report findings back to the board before any final multi-year purchase decision.

The board did not adopt any permanent procurement at the meeting; administrators framed the actions as verification and planning steps to protect instructional continuity while addressing the technical and pedagogical concerns raised by teachers.