In August of 2019, the DeSoto ISD School Board voted to approve four proposed goals and have since been using the identified targets as a guide by which to inform Board decisions.
The goals are:
- Future Readiness: The percentage of high school students who graduate college, career and/or military ready will increase from 53 percent to 69 percent by May 2024.
- Early Learning Reading: Percentage of students at the Meets level on the third-grade reading STAAR exam increases from 25 percent to 51 percent by May 2024.
- Early Learning Math: Percentage of students at the Meets level on the third grade STAAR math exam increases from 31 percent to 53 percent by May 2024.
- Individualized Growth: The percentage of students in elementary and middle school who meet their individual growth goals will increase from the district baseline measure to 80 percent by May 2024.
During January and February board meetings, several updates were presented depicting snapshots and forecasts of progress. Most critical has been the establishment of Goal Progress Measures or GPMs. GPMs are designed to help track progress and provide an early warning to areas where we might be falling behind. The use of these measures will allow the district to determine trajectory to meet the board goal, allow the opportunity to adjust if necessary and communicate progress.
For goal 1, Future Readiness, the following GPMs were established:
- GPM 1.1: PSAT 10
- GPM 1.2: OnRamps and College Prep courses
- GPM 1.3: Industry-based certifications
Objectives for each GPM have been documented with annual growth targets demonstrating progress towards the 2024 objectives.
GPMs for goals 2 and 3 (Early Learning 2 Reading and 3 Math) have been developed as follows:
- GPM 2.1 and 3.1: CLI Pre-K Assessment
- GPM 2.2 and 3.2: Kindergarten Ready Rate
- GPM 2.3 and 3.3: 1st and 2nd-grade ISIP
Updates presented at the February board meetings included the acquisition of resources and tools, training for instructional staff and preliminary scores on modules.
Baseline measures to track goal 4, Individualized Growth, are anticipated by the end of the school year. Following this designation, the timeline for developing GPMs is as follows:
- EOY assessments – May 2020
- Determine the percentage of students who meet growth targets – June 2020
- Present GPMs to Board – August 2020
The complete presentations are available on the district website along with the video.