Schools Report Steady Math, Reading Progress

A year after picking a new K‑5 reading curriculum, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) is seeing steady growth in K‑12 math and literacy assessment scores. The district is still keeping its foot on the gas to catch up students who are more than three grade levels behind.

Those were among the takeaways from a midyear math and literacy report presented to the Board of Education Monday evening. The data showed student growth from fall to winter. 

The presentation followed NHPS’s decision to adopt a new curriculum during the 2022 – 23 school year: the core K‑5 literacy programs known as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s (HMH) Into Reading and ¡Arriba la Lectura!. The district also implemented a new math curriculum, i‑Ready, for K‑8.

Click here to read the full presentation. 

The literacy presentation was given by Supervisor of Elementary Reading and Language Arts Jennifer Tousignant and Supervisor of Secondary English Language Arts Jennifer Sinal-Swingler. 

For overall grade-level growth from fall to winter for grades 3 – 8, 2,707 students who were behind two or more grade levels (or 38 percent) decreased to 2,124 students (or 30 percent). Data also showed that 1,131 (or 16 percent of) 3 – 8th grade students were on grade level in the fall and that number increased to 1,502 (21 percent) in the winter assessment. 

The overall growth for 3rd-8th graders showed that 34.72 percent of students had growth. 

Tousignant pointed out that 522 3rd-8th graders were one grade level behind in the fall, but on the second winter administration of the reading assessments, those students grew to be on grade level. 

High schools saw a total of 120 students who tested one grade level behind in the fall reach grade level in the winter assessment. Ninety-one high schoolers who were on grade level in the fall dropped to being one year behind in the winter assessment. 

“We know that students need something different within core classroom practice,” Sinal-Swingler said. ​“I assure you with commitment that we will be seeing small targeted group work in tier 1 in all grade levels K‑12.”

The Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) assessment, which tests students’ reading fluency rate for grades one and two, saw growth in proficiency. Grade three saw a decline from fall to winter. Tousignant, however, pointed out that ​“the benchmark changes with each administration” and while grade three saw a decline with the fluency assessment, it saw increases in comprehension and language assessment data.

“We also look forward to seeing how the K‑5 HMH program is currently being implemented, and also what are the needs within the 6 – 12 curriculum as we engage in a review of practice,” Sinal-Swingler said.

To conclude the literacy update, Superintendent Madeline Negrón told the board, ​“There is a positive trend in our literacy data from fall to winter according to our internal assessments. We have to be very cautious to get overly excited about the progress because these outcomes do not necessarily mean that it’s going to translate into the outcomes that we hope to see in our high stakes assessment, which is Smarter Balanced.”

The math presentation by Supervisor of Mathematics Monica Joyner followed.

“For math, we are also trending in the right direction,” Joyner began. 

NHPS uses the i‑Ready curriculum, a computer-based program taught by K‑8 educators. This is the third year of implementation for K‑5 and the first year of implementation for 6th-8th grades. Last year the district did a math pilot for 6 – 8 and i‑Ready was selected. 

Joyner’s presentation was broken down as student typical growth — which is the average annual growth goal of one year— and stretch growth, which is annual growth that ​“moves students closer to grade level proficiency faster.”

The math department’s goal is to have 35 percent of students reach stretch growth goals. Last year the district had 23 percent of students reach stretch growth. ​“If you go for stretch growth you’ll end up with your typical growth,” Joyner added. 

The K‑8 math data showed that out of 10,757 students who took both the fall and winter assessments, the 4 percent of students who tested on or above grade level grew to 15 percent of students. And the 34 percent of students who tested three or more grade levels behind decreased to 26 percent of students more than 3 grades behind. 

Since the fall, kindergarten classes have had no students more than one year behind in math. Second graders saw the biggest decline in the number of students three or more grade levels behind, as data shows second grade went from 64 percent in the fall to 40 percent in the winter. 

For personalized instruction, the district’s goal is for students to be on i‑Read’s MyPath for personalized instruction 50 minutes a week with a 80 percent passing rate. All grades but Kindergarten and eighth grade have not yet reached that goal, but all are passing Read’s passing rate of 70 percent and 30 – 49 minutes. Eighth grade is only 1 percent away from the district’s goal.

Joyner pointed out that for total growth from fall to winter, data shows that some students on or above grade level in 1st, 3rd, and 4th grades have made very little growth. 

“What that says to me is that those students have not necessarily gotten the attention that they need in order for them to move further. We kind of take it for granted when kids are at or above grade level. ​‘Oh they’re fine,’ ” Joyner said. ​“So that lets me know that we need to do some work to tighten up our tier 1 instruction so our kids who start on grade level are given the attention that they need so that they can excel and move beyond.” 

To help support schools as a whole who have lower growth strides, Joyner said the district has identified the five schools who demonstrated the least amount of growth on the mid-year assessment and plans to offer them each extra supports. 

Those supports will look like having i‑Ready consultants coming into schools to do lessons and plan with teachers, offering personal intervention for students without growth, and by building up a library of videos of NHPS educators teaching to show others how they are achieving good gains in their classrooms. 

Negrón added that fourth grade students were significantly impacted because their kindergarten year was interrupted by the Covid pandemic.

“We are not complacent. We have a lot more work to do,” Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Keisha Redd-Hannans concluded. 

Board members thanked the team for paying attention to the students in the ​“middle” who can often be overlooked because they are on grade level but not making as much growth. Members suggested the district consider implementing an i‑Ready equivalent program for K‑8 social studies, and emphasized the impact of funded mandates which allowed the district to bring in the new math and literacy curriculums.