Producing better outcomes with data-centered leadership

One of the most controversial decisions made by the San Mateo-Foster City School District Board of Trustees, in the past two years, was to change the entrypoint for compacted math from sixth grade to seventh grade. Despite layers of research supporting this decision, countless districts who don’t have any accelerated math programs yet still propel their high-achieving students forward, and support from our county superintendent of schools, board members were still painted as misinformed, misguided and accused of hurting the very students for whom they have tirelessly advocated.

Now that we have a year’s worth of evidence, we can let the data speak for itself. Preliminary data from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test results for the 2021-22 school year were recently released. In sixth grade math — the core focus of concern regarding the transition of entry point to seventh grade — SMFCSD students increased 1% overall. When we analyze the district’s data more closely, we see that the majority of sixth grade students (who were in third grade the last time they took a CAASPP test) did better on their sixth grade CAASPP test than when they took the third grade test. Not only that, they improved in spite of the many challenges they faced as a result of the pandemic.

Let’s think about our gain in achievement measured against school districts in California and throughout the nation that are reporting decreases of 5%-15% in proficiency. The New York Times is stating that the pandemic “Erased Two Decades of Progress in Math and Reading.” Even our own SMFCSD students in seventh and eighth grade dropped between 5%-7% in proficiency. In sixth grade classrooms across SMFCSD, every single subgroup of students analyzed improved in their math achievement — students with special needs, English language learners, African American students, white students and Asian students.

So what do these numbers really tell us? The numbers tell us that we were right to believe our math teachers when they asked us to try something different. Creating a heterogeneous sixth grade cohort and investing resources in training equity-minded teachers led to significant improvements in student achievement for sixth graders across the San Mateo-Foster City School District. This data tells us that our board made the right decision and that it benefited all students regardless of their race, income level or ability. The decision we made was not about politics, it was about what was best for all students. And we were able to vehemently stand behind this decision because we have incredibly dedicated and talented staff members who recommended this path forward, who had a plan that they implemented with fidelity, and who are deeply committed to supporting each and every one of our students.

The only way to deliver better outcomes for ALL is to be laser-focused on making equity-centered decisions based on meaningful data. If the data we need does not exist, we are responsible for creating systems to capture it. While there is still so much work to do, we are committed to transforming our school district into one where we change the status quo and continue to dismantle the systems that intentionally created the educational disparities we still see today. We invite our community to join us in working toward our vision of transforming our systems so that they better serve us all.

Shara Watkins is the vice president of the San Mateo-Foster City School District Board of Trustees.