The school board will hear a report and discussion on the data from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) at Thursday’s meeting.

The SBAC is a statewide assessment administered to all third through eighth-graders and 11th-graders in the areas of English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. The SBAC replaced the California Standards Test following the state’s shift to Common Core standards and allow students to not only answer questions in a variety of formats but also require students to explain their answers in an effort to demonstrate their knowledge. It also utilizes a computer whereas the previous test used the traditional pencil and paper.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Leslie Beatson and Educational Services Coordinator Stephanie Rice will dive into the findings from the results at Thursday’s meeting. In a presentation to be delivered to the board, Beatson and Rice identified three main outcomes of the presentation:

* To understand the rightful place and purpose of summative assessments.

* To review and understand Benicia Unified School District’s current data.

* To understand how BUSD can use results to inform the next steps in the instructional processes by connecting curriculum, instruction and assessment.

As Beatson and Rice noted in the presentation, BUSD had a lot to celebrate regarding the SBAC data. The district scored higher than any other in Solano County, fifth-grade cohorts increased by more than 25 in ELA at all the elementary schools, eighth-grade cohorts increased by 4 and 8 in ELA and math respectively and there were positive improvements for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. There were also positive gains for many grades in both the ELA and math tests.

Beatson and Rice identified four student groups as areas of concentration: English language learners, special education, African-American and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. They also noted that fifth-grade math was an area where students struggled the most and also focused on math and ELA for sixth through eighth-graders. Fewer special education students in third through fifth grade met or exceeded the ELA test than in 2015 or 2016. For sixth through eighth-graders, the percentage as at about the same level as in 2016, which was already a decrease from 2015. Meanwhile, the percentage of socioeconomically disadvantaged students had gone up for both groups in the ELA category.

In both the 3-5 and 6-8 cohorts for math, the percentage of students in the four subgroups who met or exceeded the goal was at about the same as in 2016.

Beatson and Rice identified a couple of actions in moving forward, including classroom walks with principals and principal teams, instructional coaches at the middle and elementary schools, monthly curriculum meetings with administrations at all levels and including specific goals for each site’s Single Plan for Student Achievement.

In other business, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Khushwinder Gill will deliver a report on the district’s Culture and Engagement Survey, and Food Services Director Tania Courtney will give a report on the food services department.

The meeting will also be preceded by a board study session at 5 p.m. dealing with Benicia’s cannabis ordinance. At a previous City Council meeting, Superintendent Dr. Charles Young expressed concerns with a draft ordinance regarding the opening of cannabis dispensaries in Benicia, particularly its potential impact of sales on the youth. City Attorney Heather McLaughlin will present the ordinance in its current form, and the trustees will discuss the matter. The public is welcome to attend this session.

In between the study session and the public meeting, there will be a closed session to discuss legal matters at 6:30 p.m. The meeting proper will start at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5 in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K St.

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