District presents assessment data; 66% of students met reading growth goals, math flagged for attention
June 29, 2026 | Buchanan Community Schools, School Boards, Michigan
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Lacy Payne, a district assessment presenter, told the Board on June 29 that ongoing benchmark testing shows mixed results: reading growth overall is positive while math growth has trended downward.
"On average right now we're at 66 percent of our students are meeting their goal," Payne said, summarizing winter‑to‑spring growth on the NWA benchmark. Payne described NWA (a district benchmark) and the recently adopted MClass assessments, which the district added this year for more granular literacy diagnostics and plans to expand through seventh grade next year. Payne said MClass will help identify students who may show dyslexia characteristics and will inform targeted interventions in classroom and intervention settings.
Board members pressed for detail on math results and schedule for curriculum review. Payne said the district is a few years out from a math adoption and highlighted professional development and targeted intervention as the next steps. She also said the district expects a required ELA conversation and curriculum review next year in light of state literacy and dyslexia requirements, and that secondary schools will need capacity adjustments to provide more foundational reading support.
What was presented: Payne walked trustees through percentile‑based performance displays, noting changes across cohorts and grade levels. She explained why the district uses the program’s 40th percentile threshold for MClass benchmarks (the program default) and that staff typically triangulate three measures before removing a student from an individual reading plan to avoid “yo‑yo” movement on and off interventions.
Next steps: The curriculum and programming committee will consider next year’s ELA adoption timeline and how to implement MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) more intentionally in secondary grades. The district also plans to expand MClass math and to refine progress monitoring and intervention groupings based on the new data.
"On average right now we're at 66 percent of our students are meeting their goal," Payne said, summarizing winter‑to‑spring growth on the NWA benchmark. Payne described NWA (a district benchmark) and the recently adopted MClass assessments, which the district added this year for more granular literacy diagnostics and plans to expand through seventh grade next year. Payne said MClass will help identify students who may show dyslexia characteristics and will inform targeted interventions in classroom and intervention settings.
Board members pressed for detail on math results and schedule for curriculum review. Payne said the district is a few years out from a math adoption and highlighted professional development and targeted intervention as the next steps. She also said the district expects a required ELA conversation and curriculum review next year in light of state literacy and dyslexia requirements, and that secondary schools will need capacity adjustments to provide more foundational reading support.
What was presented: Payne walked trustees through percentile‑based performance displays, noting changes across cohorts and grade levels. She explained why the district uses the program’s 40th percentile threshold for MClass benchmarks (the program default) and that staff typically triangulate three measures before removing a student from an individual reading plan to avoid “yo‑yo” movement on and off interventions.
Next steps: The curriculum and programming committee will consider next year’s ELA adoption timeline and how to implement MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) more intentionally in secondary grades. The district also plans to expand MClass math and to refine progress monitoring and intervention groupings based on the new data.
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