Superintendent presents preliminary state assessment results; districts await verified scores

Dr. Mackey, the state superintendent, presented preliminary statewide student assessment results to the board on July 19, saying the figures are state-level and unverified and that district-level results will be withheld from public release until districts complete verification at the end of July. "These are unverified," he told the board, adding that district-level data will be shared only with board members today.

The presentation highlighted several areas of growth. Officials said level-4 performance (students scoring above grade level) rose across grades, with particularly notable gains in 8th grade math and science after adoption of new science standards and textbooks. "We saw little growth there," Dr. Mackey said of some grades, then added that "we showed significant growth in every level 4," crediting investments under the RAISE Act and expanded supports for accelerated students.

Presenters described the science results as an unexpected bright spot: staff said new science cut scores and new materials coincided with measurable increases rather than the initial declines that sometimes follow standards changes. Maggie Hicks, director of assessment, said the science jump came during the first mandatory year under the new standards.

The report also covered English Learner (EL) measures. Officials said about 4.6 percent of EL students had exited the program in an earlier year, rising to 6.45 percent in the current set of figures. Dr. Mackey noted a discrepancy between state and federal accounting windows: state policy allows five years for EL students to exit before the state report-card calculation counts them as exited, while federal rules allow three years, a difference that affects accountability measures.

Board members pressed staff on which districts used RAISE Act funding and how those dollars were deployed. Dr. Mackey said staff and ARI (regional improvement) teams will analyze grants and district practices to identify which interventions produced the biggest gains and reported they will share findings with the board and legislators where appropriate.

Officials also discussed ACT scores: the statewide ACT-with-writing composite edged up to about 17.65 from 17.31, reversing a prior downward trend though remaining below a long-term goal of 18. Dr. Mackey said the state will continue to require the ACT with writing for juniors and consider additional career-technical assessments for some students.

Board members were told the official district report cards will begin to be prepared in August and must be published by state law no later than Dec. 31; staff said they expect to release them in mid-November. Dr. Mackey reiterated that district-level scores remain provisional until districts finish their verification work at the end of July and requested that board members treat today's district figures as preliminary.

The board did not take formal votes on the assessment items; staff said they will return with more granular district and program-level analysis in coming weeks.