Lake Bluff Gifted Education Benchmarking Progress Report

Components Above-grade-level assessment data analysis Follow-up progress tracking survey on parent perceptions based on National Association for Gifted Children Program Standards *

Two Year NUMATS Score Analysis for Lake Bluff *

Background NUMATS uses above-grade-level assessment to remove ceiling effects to: Identify strengths and “ability tilt” in high achieving students Identify needs for acceleration, further enrichment, and support among gifted and high achieving students Provide a valid and reliable way to monitor academic growth over time Lake Bluff students have participated for two years *

Comparison Groups Lake Bluff Group: local students who scored at or above the 90th percentile on a grade level assessment All NUMATS Group: Gifted students from 8 central states. (15,000 – 20,000 students annually) Similar NUMATS Group: A “bootstrapped” comparison district comprised of a sample of NUMATS students from districts in the same quartiles as Lake Bluff for average household income and level of poverty *

Explore/ACT Mean Percentiles of Lake Bluff Students Compared with NUMATS Participants With Similar Social-Economic Status and ALL NUMATS Participants in 2013-15 * With two year’s worth of above-grade-level assessment results from the district, we were able to confirm what we found last year:   Students in Lake Bluff continue to perform favorably when compared with other NUMATS students and with students from districts with similar socio-economic status.

Two-Year Comparison of Lake Bluff Students Who Had Scores in Both Years and Who Scored Above 94th in MAP Math Tests What we couldn’t measure last year, because we didn’t have two year’s worth of data on the same students, is academic growth.   This year, however, we are able to show that students who scored above the 95th percentile in MAP in year 1 show no growth on MAP in year 2. This slide shows no growth in year 2 for students who scored above the 95th percentile on MAP Math in Year 1.

Two-Year Comparison of Lake Bluff Students Who Had Scores in Both Years and Who Scored Above 94th in MAP Reading Tests This slide shows no growth on MAP scores in Year 2 for students who in Year 1 scored over 95th in MAP reading. This is not because they did not grow, it is because the students have reached the ceiling of the tests the district regularly administer at grade level.

Two-Year Comparison of Lake Bluff Students on Explore/ACT Mean Percentiles for Students Who Scored Above 94th Percentile on MAP Math When you look at the above-grade-level scores for those same group students, they show significant growth. This growth is more pronounced in their area of strength. Students who achieved above the 94th percentile on MAP in Math, when taking an above-grade-level test, grow more in Math  

Two-Year Comparison of Lake Bluff Students on Explore/ACT Mean Percentiles for Students Who Scored Above 94th Percentile on MAP Reading When you look at the above-grade-level scores for those same students, they show significant growth. This growth is more pronounced in their area of strength. Students who achieved above the 94th percentile on MAP in Reading, when taking an above-grade-level test, grow more in Reading.  

Explore/ACT Mean Percentiles of Lake Bluff Students Whose Two-Year Average Scored Lower than 90th, Between 90-94th, and higher than 94th in MAP Math Tests * There is large variability among the population within the school at the top 10%. For reference, percentile difference between segments in math translates to a 4-5 point difference on ACT. This is very significant both statistically and educationally.

Data Takeaways Lake Bluff high achieving students are, as a group, outperforming other gifted students around the Midwest. What’s happening for kids in school in Lake Bluff appears to be making a difference. Lake Bluff is widening the gap between itself and economically similar districts Differences among Lake Bluff’s high achieving students are significant enough to merit continuing efforts to further differentiate curriculum and provide accelerative pathways

Parent Perceptions

Survey Items based on NAGC Program Standards Supplemented with localized questions Parallel items between 2013 and 2014 survey used to monitor perception changes

Goals for gifted and advanced students are clearly articulated “Strongly Disagree” dropped from 47% of responses to 10%

Rights and responsibilities of parents related to programs and services for gifted and advanced students are clear. “Strongly Disagree” dropped from 43% of responses to 11%

Criteria for placing students in programs and services for gifted and advanced students are fair. “Don’t know” dropped from 51% to 14%.

My child’s teachers regularly differentiate curriculum to keep my gifted or advanced student challenged and engaged Don’t know dropped from 23% to 14%

The culture of our school supports flexibility to meet gifted and advanced students’ needs

The culture of Lake Bluff schools values gifted and advanced students and their abilities “Agree” rose from 10.4% to 38.6% of responses

Parents, teachers, specialists and administrators work as partners to address the needs of gifted and advanced students “Agree” rose from 10.4% to 38.6% of responses

Parents, teachers, specialists and administrators work as partners to address the needs of gifted and advanced students “Agree” rose from 10.4% to 38.6% of responses

I have adequate opportunities to communicate with enrichment specialists about ways to meet the needs of my gifted or advanced child “Agree” rose from 10.4% to 38.6% of responses

Other findings Accessing more advanced curriculum remains a high priority for parents Parent meetings and new web page have been perceived as helpful by parents who were aware of and accessed them

Recommendations Continue providing regular updates on gifted education efforts. Transparency and frequency of communications are gaining trust Continue to emphasize and support differentiation efforts in all classrooms Continue work to open pathways to acceleration and communicate opportunities to parents Monitor trajectories of students into high school and beyond over time