Monterey Peninsula school district sees improvement in recently released assessments – Monterey Herald

MPUSD Academic Progress Report: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals through Quality Education

Executive Summary of Performance Gains

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) has demonstrated significant academic improvement in the 2024-2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results. These gains reflect a direct contribution to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education. The district outperformed similar demographic unified districts and narrowed its gap with the state average.

• English Language Arts (ELA): Student proficiency (meeting or exceeding standards) increased from 38.89% to 41.57%.
• Mathematics: Student proficiency increased from 24.11% to 27.43%.
• Science (CST): Student proficiency increased from 22.80% to 24.76%.

A notable reduction in the number of students scoring in the lowest performance band (Level 1) across subjects indicates progress in providing foundational skills for all learners.

Alignment with SDG 4: Quality Education

The district’s achievements are a clear indicator of progress toward SDG 4 targets, particularly those focused on quality primary and secondary education, literacy, and numeracy.

• Target 4.1 (Quality Primary and Secondary Education): The overall increase in proficiency across core subjects demonstrates an enhancement in the quality of education provided to students from primary through secondary levels.
• Target 4.6 (Literacy and Numeracy): The specific focus on and subsequent improvement in third-grade reading scores highlight the success of intentional strategies to improve foundational literacy, a cornerstone of lifelong learning.
• Inclusive Learning Environments: By ensuring students have access to “engaging, affirming and meaningful experiences,” the district fosters an inclusive educational environment essential for quality learning outcomes.

Alignment with SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

MPUSD’s results show a strong commitment to SDG 10 by actively working to reduce inequalities and close opportunity gaps for historically underserved student populations.

• Target 10.3 (Ensure Equal Opportunity): The district has made substantial progress in improving outcomes for specific demographic groups.
  • African American Students: This subgroup achieved double-digit gains in ELA across third, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, signifying real movement in closing opportunity gaps.
  • English Learners: Third-grade English learners demonstrated remarkable growth, improving from 7% to 15% in ELA and from 9% to 18% in math.
• Equitable Systems: These gains are attributed to a holistic approach that analyzes disproportionality and implements targeted strategies to ensure equitable outcomes for all learners.

Strategic Initiatives and Future Outlook

The reported growth is the result of intentional, system-wide strategies designed to support powerful teaching and learning. These initiatives provide a framework for sustained progress.

1. Investment in High-Quality Instructional Materials: The district has equipped educators with superior materials and provided support for effective planning and implementation.
2. Focus on Early Learning and Foundational Skills: A decade-long emphasis on early learning and literacy is now yielding measurable improvements in student outcomes.
3. Ensuring Grade-Level Access: A core strategy has been to provide every student with access to daily grade-level instruction, coupled with strong academic intervention.
4. Addressing Systemic Barriers: The district has focused on reducing chronic absenteeism to ensure students are present for instruction, a critical factor in academic success.

While celebrating progress, the district identifies mathematics as an “area of need” requiring further attention. The future focus will be on equipping teachers with enhanced tools for math instruction to accelerate growth across all subgroups. This continuous improvement model, reflected in the positive California Dashboard results, positions MPUSD to further advance educational quality and equity, contributing to students’ future success in college, careers, and beyond, in alignment with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article primarily addresses two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on educational achievement and equity within the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD).

• SDG 4: Quality Education
  
  This is the most central SDG in the article. The text is entirely focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities. It details the district’s efforts to improve student performance in core subjects like English Language Arts, math, and science, which are fundamental components of a quality education. The article discusses specific learning outcomes, the quality of teaching materials, and strategies to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  
  The article strongly connects to this SDG through its emphasis on closing achievement gaps and improving outcomes for specific, historically underserved student populations. The district’s “intentional system design” to address disproportionality and the specific mention of significant gains for “African American students” and “English learners” directly align with the goal of reducing inequalities within and among countries by ensuring equal opportunity and outcomes.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the details provided, several specific SDG targets can be identified:

1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
   
   Explanation: The article directly addresses this target by reporting on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results for students in primary (third grade), middle (sixth, seventh, eighth grades), and high school (11th grade). The entire discussion revolves around improving the effectiveness of learning outcomes in these educational stages.
2. Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
   
   Explanation: The district’s explicit focus on “closing opportunity gaps and improving outcomes for historically underserved students” is a direct action towards this target. The article highlights progress for vulnerable subgroups, specifically “African American students” and “English learners,” demonstrating an effort to ensure equal access to quality educational outcomes.
3. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
   
   Explanation: The article’s core metrics are the improvement in “English Language Arts” (literacy) and “mathematics” (numeracy) scores. The district’s focus on “improving foundational literacy instruction” and its stated goal to see more growth in math are direct efforts to achieve this target for its student population.
4. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
   
   Explanation: By implementing strategies to specifically lift the academic performance of “African American students” and “English learners,” the district is actively working to promote the educational inclusion of these groups, which is a foundational step toward broader social and economic inclusion.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article is rich with specific quantitative and qualitative indicators that measure progress towards the identified targets.

• Proportion of students achieving a minimum proficiency level: This is the most prominent indicator. The article provides precise data points for measuring progress in literacy and numeracy (Targets 4.1 and 4.6).
  • English Language Arts: Increase from 38.89% to 41.57% of students meeting or exceeding standards.
  • Mathematics: Increase from 24.11% to 27.43% of students meeting or exceeding standards.
  • Science: Increase from 22.80% to 24.76% of students meeting or exceeding standards.
• Achievement data disaggregated by subgroup: This indicator is crucial for measuring progress on equity-focused targets (Target 4.5 and 10.2).
  • Improvement for English learners in third grade: ELA scores rose from 7% to 15% (+8 points), and math scores rose from 9% to 18% (+9 points).
  • Gains for African American students: “Double-digit gains in English language arts in third, sixth, seventh and eighth grades.”
• Proportion of students at the lowest performance level: The article implies this indicator by stating, “fewer students scored at Level 1, the lowest performance band, in both subjects.” This measures the reduction of students who are furthest behind.
• Chronic absenteeism rate: This is mentioned as a key focus area for the district (“a particular focus on improving chronic absenteeism”). While no specific numbers are given, it is used as an indicator of student engagement and access to learning opportunities, which is relevant to providing an effective learning environment.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: montereyherald.com