Fenton board cites strong MAP growth for freshmen and big gains for English learners

FENTON — The Fenton Community High School District 100 board on June 24 heard preliminary student-achievement results that school leaders said show meaningful growth for incoming freshmen and substantial progress among English learners.

Superintendent Dr. Sam Benson and other presenters described results from MAP diagnostic testing, preliminary ACT data, ACCESS (the state English-learner assessment) results, and career/college program outcomes. Presenters emphasized MAP’s value as an individual-growth tool and said ninth graders produced an average MAP growth of four points — double the two-point growth the measure expects for students “on track” — moving the grade‑cohort from roughly the 70th to the 81st national percentile, according to the presentation.

“We saw double the expected growth for students on track,” a presenter said, adding teachers found MAP more actionable than statewide snapshots because it helps target skills for individual students. A board member asked whether the district could break the MAP results out by feeder school (for example Wooddale versus Bill) to examine potential disparities; presenters said that disaggregation is possible and they would provide it on request.

District staff framed preliminary ACT results as incomplete because many students have only two years of ACT data so far; the presentation noted average composite moves such as a cohort shifting from a 15.6 to a 16.5 composite but emphasized the figures remain preliminary and will be revisited as three‑year trajectories become available.

On ACCESS testing — the state’s required English‑learner assessment graded on a six‑point scale, with Illinois proficiency defined at 4.8 — presenters said EL enrollment rose after COVID and that ACCESS passers increased sharply. “Last year we had 13 students pass the test; this year 39 students passed,” a presenter said, and the district reported moving more students from beginning to intermediate proficiency.

The presentation also highlighted that 72 seniors earned the Seal of Biliteracy — more than 20% of the graduating class — often by pairing ACCESS proficiency with a language test (Spanish and Bosnian were cited as examples). Lorenzo Rubio was identified as coordinating the seal effort.

Career and technical education (TCD) results were presented as another bright spot: 91% of participating students earned a C or higher, 80% earned an A or B, 389 college credits were earned through the program (about nine per participating student), and 71% of participants earned an industry credential.

Looking ahead, the district plans to continue MAP testing and expand a pilot ACT-prep program run during Bison Time and via a digital platform called Progress Learning. Presenters said the expansion will start with juniors and could extend to ninth and 10th graders depending on utilization and outcomes.

The presenters also disclosed that the slide deck used for the update was generated using Notebook LM; they said the disclosure was intended to model transparent use of AI tools.

The board did not take action on the presentation but asked staff to provide additional subgroup breakdowns of MAP and ACCESS data and to circulate finalized ACT figures when available.