Confronting our Challenges & Detailing Next Steps

November 19, 2024

Agenda

• Recap of 10/1 & 10/15
• Disparate Outcomes Between Groups: Our Actions
• Highlighting Elementary Schools Requiring Significant Intervention

MCAS Presentation Arc this Fall

October 1st

MCAS/Accountability Highlights (ELA & Math 3-8) & Celebrating Schools

October 15

MCAS Deep Dive, including High School & Science MCAS

November 19th

Confronting our challenges & detailing next steps

Highlights of 2024 MCAS & Accountability Data from 10/1: Emerging Strengths

• MLK was recently recognized by the US Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School.
• Tobin Montessori was recognized by the MA Dept of Education as a School of Recognition.
• In the state’s accountability system, the district and most schools are making substantial progress toward targets.

• Grades 3-8 Math MCAS achievement is fairly stable.
• CPS outperformed the state

in every grade in ELA & math.

• Grade 7 had high growth in math.
• Grade 8 had high growth in both math and ELA.

Highlights of 2024 MCAS & Accountability Data from 10/1: Emerging Challenges

• Grades 3-8 ELA MCAS achievement declined, though on par with the state’s decline.
• Just over half of our students are meeting/exceeding expectations in ELA & math.
• Grade 6 continues to have low growth in math.

• We continue to see inconsistent outcomes between schools.
• Disparate outcomes persist

between student demographic groups.

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Focus 1:

Persistence of disparate outcomes

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Focus 2:

Schools Requiring Significant Intervention

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Focus 3:

Upper Schools

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Focus 4: Cambridge Rindge & Latin School

Disparate outcomes persist

between student demographic groups.

2024 ELA MCAS by Demographics: % of Students

Meeting/Exceeding Expectations, Grades 3-8: State vs. CPS

ELA

2024 Math MCAS by Demographics: % of Students

Meeting/Exceeding Expectations, Grades 3-8: State vs. CPS

MATH

• Aligned curriculum with implementation coaching
• Focus on Teacher Effectiveness

• Professional learning aligned with curriculum implementation
• Aligned training for evaluators across the district
• District-wide learning walks centered around School Improvement Plan goals and expected teaching practices

• District equity initiatives (DESE-sponsored Equity in Action initiative; Admin book study Fix Injustice, Not Kids; district-wide professional learning modules)
• Additional supports for the students who are furthest from grade level, including high-impact tutoring and interventions.
• Social Emotional Learning foundational focus.
• Improved behavioral response protocols

What are we doing now?

Schools Requiring Significant Intervention

KLO & FMA

Confronting Challenges Now

• There are substantially different outcomes occurring across 12 CPS elementary schools.
• CPS high-need/most vulnerable students are disproportionately distributed among 12 elementary schools.
• Specialized program development and placement does not seem to have fully taken into account the underlying premises of the district’s choice-based system.
• KLO and FMA represent significant outliers with respect to student outcomes as indicated by the most reliable measurable data points available.

Threshold Points:

• While KLO and FMA are outliers with respect to student outcomes, they are situated very differently from one another.
• Both KLO and FMA represent school communities, composed of extremely hard working educators, deeply invested parents and caregivers, and talented students.
• The data included herein are publicly available data and consistent with long-term trends.
• This is not an indictment of these school communities, but an acknowledgement by the district of the need for change.

Grades 3-8 2024 ELA MCAS Results:

ELA

High Needs: A student is considered high needs if they are designated as:

low income, an English Learner or Former English Learner, and/or a student with disabilities.

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

+ % of High Needs Students Enrolled (sorted by High Needs)

The percentage of high needs students ranges from 34% to 86% across CPS schools.

Grades 3-8 2024 Math MCAS Results:

MATH

High Needs: A student is considered high needs if they are designated as:

low income, an English Learner or Former English Learner, and/or a student with disabilities.

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

+ % of High Needs Students Enrolled (sorted by High Needs)

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And … we see a wide range in outcomes across our schools.

ELA MCAS, 2018-2024: Kennedy-Longfellow School

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

KLO’s ELA MCAS achievement dipped to a five-year low in 2024. Growth has fluctuated within the moderate category over time.

ELA MCAS, 2018-2024: Fletcher Maynard Academy

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

FMA’s ELA MCAS achievement dipped to a five-year low in 2024.

Growth has consistently been moderate-high.

Math MCAS, 2018-2024: Kennedy-Longfellow School

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

KLO’s math MCAS achievement has been more consistent. However, three of the last five years KLO had low growth.

Math MCAS, 2018-2024: Fletcher Maynard Academy

% of Students Meeting/Exceeding Expectations

FMA’s math MCAS achievement has been more consistent.

Post-Covid, FMA has had moderate-high and/or high growth.

What are MCAS Achievement Percentiles?

• School achievement percentiles (1-99) compare each group's average MCAS scaled score to the average scaled scores of the same group from all public schools across the state (Groupings: Grades 3-8 and High School).
• They provide a relative measure versus an absolute measure to understand the relative performance of a school’s demographic group compared to the performance of that same group in schools across the state.

• For instance, if a school’s achievement percentile is 97 for High Needs students, that means that the average scaled scores of the school’s High Needs students are in the 97th percentile statewide compared to High Needs students in other schools across the state. In this case, only 3% of schools had higher achievement of High Needs students.

2024 ELA Achievement Percentiles:

All Students

ELA

70th Percentile

2024 Math Achievement Percentiles:

All Students

MATH

70th Percentile

2024 ELA Achievement Percentiles:

High Needs Students

(Numbers next to school name = number of high needs students tested)

ELA

70th Percentile

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High Needs: A student is considered high needs if they are designated as:

low income, an English Learner or Former English Learner, and/or a student with disabilities.

2024 Math Achievement Percentiles:

High Needs Students

(Numbers next to school name = number of high needs students tested)

MATH

70th Percentile

High Needs: A student is considered high needs if they are designated as:

low income, an English Learner or Former English Learner, and/or a student with disabilities.

2024 ELA Achievement Percentiles:

Non-High Needs Students

ELA

70th Percentile

2024 Math Achievement Percentiles:

Non-High Needs Students

MATH

70th Percentile

2024 ELA Achievement Percentiles:

African-American/Black Students

(Numbers next to school name = number of African-Am/Black students tested)

ELA

70th Percentile

2024 Math Achievement Percentiles:

African-American/Black Students

MATH

70th Percentile

5-Year Average ELA & Math Achievement Percentiles: KLO & FMA

High Needs and Non-High Needs Students

The patterns seen in the 2024 achievement percentiles have been consistent over time, as demonstrated by the 5-year averages below.

KLo and FMA: Additional Data Points

Kennedy-Longfellow School

• Student population is 86% high needs.
• Very few families have chosen KLO as first choice in the last 10 years.
• Four times more students transfer in or out of the school during the year compared to the state and district.
• Supplemental staff support and Title I supports.
• Significant influx of newcomers.
• Existing after-school programs, including strategic tutoring.

Structural & Systemic Conditions: School Performance Metrics:

• Lowest student achievement in ELA and math.
• Non-high needs students chronically underperforming.
• Low growth in math three of last five years.
• Students enrolled in KLO longer do not demonstrate higher achievement compared to more recently enrolled students.
• Outcomes in SEI program consistently strong.

Structural & System Conditions:

• Student population is 83% high need.
• Expanded Learning Time program resulting in 360 additional minutes of school time as compared to most CPS elementary schools.
• Title I supports and tutoring programs currently in place.
• Significant portion of CPS substantially separate programming located at FMA.

School Performance Metrics:

• Low student achievement in both ELA and math.
• Strong to very strong levels of growth post COVID.
• Particularly strong and consistent achievement among African American students, disproportionate to the rest of CPS.
• Highly chosen school among families identifying as low income.

What does intervention mean in this context?

Interventions at KLO:

• Consideration of potential external partnerships.
• Focus on bolstering of Tier 1 instruction & supports.
• Review of grade level team data and collaborative planning opportunities.
• Review of IEP development and service delivery processes.
• Consideration of infrastructure challenges and implications of facilities condition assessment with respect to long-standing district enrollment implications.

Interventions at FMA:

• Continuation of ELT and associated redesign process.
• Identification of best practices and thoughtful replication where applicable.
• Consideration of school assignment policy revisions.

Interventions at KLO & FMA:

• Continued implementation of aligned curriculum in ELA and math.
• Authentic community engagement to incorporate staff and family input.
• Targeted coaching and professional learning.
• Ongoing review of data to inform more effective interventions.
• Increased observations and feedback cycles.
• Consideration of specialized programming placements and matriculation policies.

Because the KLO and FMA are situated differently, intervention in these school communities will look different at the respective schools.

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Both share a common goal, to ensure all school communities across CPS produce outcomes that reflect a commitment to equity and student achievement that positions students for

post-secondary success.

Discussion