FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE from the Moffat County School District (Courtesy photos from MCSD)

Moffat County School District maintains improved performance framework levels but eyes opportunities for future growth

 

Craig, CO — A year after a monumental step forward in state assessment ratings, Moffat County School District has largely maintained its momentum academically despite identifying some areas of opportunity.

 

The district’s State Performance Framework rating revealed growth in several schools as well as decline in others, highlighting the impact of a number of investments from the district in instructional practices and other supports for students. The areas of opportunity help the district identify where to invest going forward, and a great deal of work is already underway in these areas.

 

The district’s overall Performance Framework rating represented a small decline relative to last year’s results, a 2.1 percentage point decrease, and despite gains in several areas, this data is helpful in identifying where to focus district resources and energy going forward. On the five-category accreditation scale of Turnaround, Priority Improvement, Improvement, Accredited, and Accredited with Distinction, the district is rated Improvement, the same as last year. MCSD remains extremely close to the threshold to be rated Accredited.

 

Specifically, the district’s overall “Growth” score, which measures individual students’ improvement year-to-year, was also encouraging. In ELA, the district as a whole met the state standard for growth, and exceeded it by 1 percentage point in math. That means students at Moffat County School District are moving in the right direction.

 

More granularly, the district saw a small improvement year-to-year in English/Language Arts (ELA) performance, maintaining the gains from a year ago, and a substantial improvement year-to-year in math. Overall, the number of district students meeting or exceeding state standards improved .1 percentage point, from 33.1% to 33.2%in ELA. The number of students meeting or exceeding state math standards increased 3 percentage points, from 20.6% to 23.6%.

 

This is undoubtedly due to the extraordinary focus in math instruction over the last two years. The district has partnered with top-of-the-line math instructional trainers to provide teachers with the latest evidence-backed instructional practices. This focus was a response to an identified need in these same assessments two years ago, when the 2022-23 school year’s CMAS math scores were as low as 16% meeting or exceeding state standards. This improvement over two years, from 16% meeting or exceeding standards, to 23.6%, was a 47.5% improvement in just two years.

 

In pursuit of continual academic growth, the district has been hard at work. Part of this work has included the district seeking and being awarded more than $3 million in grants last year (representing an influx of more than 10% of the district’s total budget), including four state grants last spring totaling nearly $1.3 million directed toward improving reading and writing instruction.

 

In addition to grant funded initiatives, the district has added nine more professional development days to staff calendars, and is contracting with a top-level partner to train teachers on improving the results of professional learning communities, which evidence shows is a leading indicator of successful student outcomes.

 

Moffat County School District is not content resting on last year’s laurels and leaving off improving outcomes for students. This year’s assessments are encouraging, but beneath district leaderships’ expectations, and the absolute intention is to increase the rate of growth for students. This work proves those intentions, and every expectation in the district is that results will follow soon.

 

In the meantime, MCSD is pleased to report that attendance rates improved again this year, and preliminary estimates demonstrate improved graduation rates as well. CMAS and performance frameworks are not the only measure of a successful school district. They don’t measure the arts, school culture, athletics, extracurricular activities, or even social studies or STEM. However, they are an important report card and a useful metric to add to the district’s quiver as it evaluates its direction and initiatives. MCSD is confident the future is bright for Moffat County students.