Hack
BCSC school board members heard an update on how the current group of third graders are projected to do on the IREAD-3 exam this spring.
Based on current indicators, 74% of students are expected to pass IREAD. Although it’s important to note that assumes no further instruction or interventions between now and the spring when the test is first taken, which won’t be the case.
Laura Hack, director of elementary education, last provided a snapshot of how the students were projected to do in August and gave updated projections based on further testing this fall.
Data then showed that of BCSC’s 812 third-graders, 494 students either already passed the test meant for third-graders in second grade last year or are on track to pass this school year based on their test scores from last year.
Of the remaining 318 students who were deemed at-risk of not passing IREAD this year, 106 had a score better than 365 “which is a positive indicator that they are likely to pass on their second attempt,” according to Hack.
Sixty-eight of those students have an individualized education program (IEP) and qualify for a good cause exemption, meaning they would not be retained in third grade if they don’t pass. However, the group would be counted as not having passed as part of the district’s statistics.
The other 27 students are English language learners and have spent less than two years in the United States. Those 27 also qualify for a good cause exemption, according to Hack.
Since the August update, the 318 at-risk students took one of two different assessments — a Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessment or the ILEARN checkpoint assessment.
Richards, Southside and Taylorsville elementary students participated in ILEARN Checkpoint, which is part of a pilot program as ILEARN is set to undergo a redesign starting with the 2025-26 school year. The Indiana Department of Education offered schools the ability to pilot the three checkpoints for English and math this school year. Next year, the checkpoints will be enforced at all schools, Hack told school board members.
Of the 318 at-risk students, 125 took the ILEARN Checkpoint. Ten of those 125 are on track to pass IREAD this spring, three are at proficiency, seven approaching proficiency and the remaining 115 are still below proficiency.
“As we move forward, it’s crucial that we not only track progress, but we continue to be proactive with targeted actions,” Hack said. “We are committed to intentionally analyzing each student’s data, and since IREAD scores were released last spring, we have been monitoring these students and their growth.”
The school corporation’s other eight elementary schools took an assessment from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). BCSC officials said that they will determine in the spring if they will continue to give the NWEA assessment in conjuction with the ILEARN checkpoints next year.
Of the 318 at-risk students, 193 took the NWEA. Of those, 28 are scoring at or above proficiency, meaning they’re likely to pass the test in this spring. The other 165 are scoring below proficiency “meaning they will continue to need extra intentional boosts in both in and out of the classroom,” per Hack.
Some of those boosts come in the form of interventions starting in early August, fluency checks, sending home additional resources for family support and ongoing progress monitoring in the classroom.
“We are focusing on increasing Book Buddy volunteers, collaborating with CCIC (continuous improvement councils), and leveraging our Literacy Cadre across schools like Fodrea, Mt. Healthy, Parkside and Richards,” Hack said. “We’re continuing to offer professional development to all elementary staff in the science of reading, and what that means is that we will help them better understand how students develop their reading and writing skills.”
The next round of assessments will happen in the winter.
“That will give us another picture of how our students are progressing and the impact of these interventions,” Hack said. “More importantly, it will help us fine-tune our focus for additional support before the spring.”
BCSC officials said 85% of BCSC third graders passed IREAD-3 during the previous school year, up from 80.1% in 2023.
As of now, BCSC isn’t able to compare the current projection that 74% students are expected to pass IREAD to last fall. That’s because every student took the NWEA in 2023-24, which is not the case this year with the introduction of the checkpoints.
“We don’t have that comparison data because it’s not apples to apples at this time,” Hack said. “… I feel like we’re going to take this test in the winter and have a different number that’s higher than 74 come January.”
When asked by Board President Nicole Wheeldon, District 7, how that 74% projection compares to other school districts, Hack explained that schools don’t necessarily share that data comprehensively and said some schools administer the tests differently.
By this time next school year, comparing projections to other districts could be easier, said Superindent Chad Phillips.
“Next year when every school has to do the checkpoints, we may get that data from the state,” Phillips said. “When everyone is doing it, we assume that data will be available.”
Phillips later added that they’re considering further options to help develop the foundational reading skills of the district’s younger students.
BCSC’s Corporation Continuous Improvement Council (CCIC) in September, according to Phillips, had been brainstorming ways to ensure there is a licensed teacher in K-3 classrooms for as many school days as possible, with an initial focus being put on third and then second grade classrooms.
“We will continue (the discussion) next week at the CCIC, and we may have some requests come before the board,” Phillips said. “It could be anything from mentors to long-term permanent subs.”
LHP Analytics is doing some data analysis for BCSC that will inform recommendations administrators could make to school board members as early as the top of 2025.
“What we’ve asked them to do at this point is to look backwards, looking at prior years to see the impact of pre-K on IREAD scores and other academic indicators for kids in the long-run,” Phillips said. “Based on what they tell us, if it works really well and there’s statistically significant impact for a specific group of kids, we may bring you a recommendation in as early as January for how we staff for pre-K next year.”
“We have a long list of things that we may bring before you to actually help directly impact these IREAD scores in the long-run.”
