The Salisbury Township Board of Directors held a curriculum and technology committee meeting Dec. 17, 2024. The meeting centered around the district’s K-8 testing summary.

Leading the presentation was Salisbury Middle School Principal Ken Parliman and Salisbury Elementary School Principal Zachary Brem.

Brem began by outlining the percentages of proficient/advanced scores in three academic areas namely, English Language Arts/Literature, Mathematics/Algebra and Science/Biology. Percentages are further broken into the percentage of proficient/advanced, state average percentage and statewide 2033 percentage goal.

All student groups scored above the statewide average in all three academic areas but did not meet the yearly interim benchmark goals established by the state on the path to meeting the 2033 target percentages.

In the area of language arts, 62.8% of all students achieved a level of proficient/ advanced in reading. The statewide average in this area is 53.9% and the statewide 2033 goal is 81.1%. It would appear the district is 12.3 percentage points from the state’s yearly targeted 2033 goal but it should be noted the district’s scores in reading have risen 18% over the last three years. Challenges still remain for English Language Learners and special education students where fewer students achieve proficient or advanced when compared to all students.

When School Board Director Laura McKelvey asked Brem what he attributed the gains in reading to, Brem responded the increase is mainly due to shifts in the core curriculum as well as a more focused approach to English Language Arts and the multitiered system of support which provides all students with targeted interventions, not just students who are struggling academically.

Brem also presented several charts that track proficiency scores from 2018-2024 which clearly show scores dipping significantly after 2020 and then rebounding to above pre pandemic levels in 2023-2024.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling pointed out that while it is encouraging to see these upward trends, each dot on a chart is a new group of students and she cautioned the district needs to understand the unique needs of each cohort of students in an effort to meet their needs as a whole.

Mathematics/Algebra scores ranked 13.6 % higher than the state average with 53.8% of all students scoring proficient or advanced. This score falls 18 percentage points below the interim benchmark target of 71.8% to reach the 2033 statewide mathematics goal.

Brem noted proficient/advanced mathematics scores have risen 10% over three years and fourth grade students’ scores rose an impressive 12% to attain the highest score ever recorded by the district’s fourth graders since standards have been updated. Again, ELL and special education students showed fewer students’ scores in the proficient or advanced range.

Science/Biology scores showed 71% of students scored proficient/advanced which is 12 percentage points above the state average and 12 points below the 2033 interim benchmark goal.

Going forward, administrators and staff will continue to use data analysis, a multitiered system of support, classwide interventions as well as professional development and refinements to curriculum in an effort to help more students become proficient in the areas of math and reading.

Parliman continued the presentation with an analysis of the testing data as it applies to middle school students.

In the area of English Language Arts/Literature, 58.8% of students scored above the state average but fell below the 81.1% 2033 interim target goal set by the state.

Mathematics/Algebra scores showed 29.8% of students reached the level of proficient/advanced which is 10.4 percentage points below the state average. Analysis by grade level revealed fifth grade students were above the state average while grades 6-8 fell below the state average.

It should be noted that in terms of growth standards, all students have exceeded the state growth standards in the areas of math and reading. Growth standards compare student performance from one year to the next rather than whether they have achieved proficiency. In other words, a student who did not make benchmarks is still learning and growing and the growth standard is a way to measure his/her progress.

Next steps for the middle school include continued weekly analysis of data generated through weekly monitoring and IXL program data, partnering with PaTTAN to develop a multitiered system of support for math which includes targeted professional development in the area of math and focusing on curriculum pacing and increasing opportunities for small group instruction.

Science/Biology scores indicate 45.3% of students made proficiency standards which is 13.9 percentage points below the state average. No definitive action plans have been prepared in the area of science due to the fact the soon-to-be implemented Next Generation Science Standards established by the state may change science assessments significantly. The first year of the new test will yield new baselines for schools across Pennsylvania.

School Director Joe Gnall posed the question of what the data would look like if the scores of students who opt out of testing were eliminated. It is important to note students who opt out of testing receive a score of zero on all tests which in a small district like Salisbury has a significant negative impact on overall data.

Both Parliman and Pauling agreed it would be beneficial, albeit time consuming, to extrapolate this data and they have already begun working on it.

The next meeting of the curriculum and technology committee will be held 7 p.m. Jan. 22 followed by a regular school board meeting. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.