Littleton Schools Show MAP Growth Rebound, Flag Reading Comprehension Gap Across Grades 4-9

LITTLETON — September 29, 2022 — Littleton School Committee reviews MAP Growth data showing above-norm performance but a consistent literary comprehension gap across grades 4 through 9. Director of Student Learning Beth Steele presented three years of adaptive assessment results at the September 29 meeting, telling the committee that while the vast majority of students perform at or above national grade-level norms — roughly 85 percent of second-graders fall in the average-to-advanced range — students from grade 4 through grade 9 share a common relative weakness in "literary texts, key ideas and details," a finding she called atypical in her years of using the exam. Steele attributed the pattern to pandemic disruptions that curtailed the spontaneous in-class book discussions teachers rely on to develop both close reading and big-picture comprehension, saying, "if we take a step back and consider the environment that we've been in for two years, not actually all that surprising." Principals Michelle Temple of Russell Street and Michelle Kane of Shaker Lane presented school-level strategic plan reviews, each citing the simultaneous rollout of Into Math, Lucy Calkins writing, and literacy screener programs as their primary operational challenge alongside the persistent social-emotional needs of students post-pandemic. The School Start Time subcommittee reported consultant GPI has narrowed more than 20 bus scenarios to three viable options, with a community survey planned for mid-to-late October and a School Committee vote potentially as soon as late November.