Students at Plymouth-Canton Community Schools are meeting or exceeding student performance rates in Michigan and nationwide in several subjects, including reading, math, science and social studies, according to an analysis by district administrators.
School officials said the exceptional achievement by Plymouth Canton students defies both national and statewide trends three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in lost learning for students in Michigan and across the country, according to national studies.
“At Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, we work tirelessly to help ensure our students can continue to learn and achieve and that means innovating and stepping up to deliver a world-class education that can help our students succeed even during a global pandemic,” Plymouth-Canton Community Schools Superintendent Monica Merritt said. “P-CCS teachers, staff, administrators, students and families put learning first and found solutions to help all students reach their fullest potential.”
District administrators released a detailed analysis of student performance as part of the district benchmark assessment goals, which help inform comprehensive needs assessment and teaching and learning programs. Using data from a national evaluation as well as the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), the analysis showed that each Plymouth Canton grade level, in aggregate, is performing at or above the national average range in achievement as measured by the Fall 2022 national Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA).
All district student demographic groups are meeting or exceeding the national average range in growth as measured by the Fall 2022 NWEA. In Michigan M-STEP results, Plymouth Canton students are exceeding student achievement rates of their peers in the Great Lakes state in English Language Arts, math, science and social studies by double-digit percentage points.
District Chief Academic Officer Beth Rayl credited the entire district learning community for their commitment to identifying innovative learning and teaching strategies aimed at meeting the needs of all students, including: tailoring and implementing small-group instruction and hybrid learning with both remote and in-person opportunities; intentionally focusing on subjects that require face-to-face instruction at different levels, such as math and literacy at the elementary grades; appropriately pacing and timing instruction to build consistency across the district and providing more than 200 courses for professional development of teachers and staff to equip them with the tools needed in the classroom.
“All stakeholders in P-CCS collaborate to meet the needs of our students, despite great challenges like a global pandemic,” Rayl said. “We look forward to continuing to focus on elevating our academic performance while reducing any remaining gaps so all students can continue to achieve success.”
In addition to positive achievement results, the NWEA data also tracked student growth nationwide. In contrast to national findings, students in Plymouth Canton Community Schools, in aggregate, performed at or above the national average range in achievement and growth as measured by the fall 2022 NWEA. Unlike the findings for third graders across the nation, students in Grade 3 at Plymouth Canton exceeded their growth norms this fall.
