Assistant Principal Jeff Rose presented the Portsmouth School Committee with the district's 2024'25 state assessment results, saying the data show “the fruits of that labor are here.” Rose told the committee the district made gains across multiple grades in English language arts, math and science after implementing targeted curricula and instructional strategies.

Rose said grade 3 ELA proficiency rose from about 55% in 2023'24 to nearly 70% in 2024'25, and he reported double‑digit gains in several middle‑school grades (for example, a 12.6 percentage‑point increase in grade 5 RICAS ELA). He also said the high‑school juniors' PSAT/NMSQT proficiency rate improved to about 76%, noting the NMSQT has a higher benchmark for proficiency than the PSAT 10.

Rose credited building‑level work and specific programs for the gains: elementary classrooms piloted SRSD writing strategies and continued use of Lexia Core5; the middle school adopted claim‑evidence‑reasoning writing and common writing rubrics; and the high school introduced "Patriot Block" literacy and numeracy time and curricular tools such as Achieve3000, ALEKS and Desmos. For math, elementary grades moved to the Eureka Squared curriculum while maintaining or improving proficiency. For science, the district used a STEM instructional systems coach and new assessments and curricula (Inner Orbit, openSciEd) to inform instruction.

Committee members asked for additional context. Member Speaker 4 asked why STAR screening data were not presented; Rose said state assessment slides were the focus for this presentation but agreed to include STAR and cohort growth in future reports. Finance and administration staff also agreed to provide subgroup breakdowns and multi‑year cohort growth visuals to show equity and trends across student groups.

The presentation closed with next steps: principals will present school‑level data at PTO meetings in January; the district will continue vertical articulation work in math (grades 6'12) and expand SRSD and other interventions; and staff will explore whether additional technology tools would provide cost‑effective support for evaluation and data collection. Rose's slides and the committee's follow‑up requests indicate the district will return with more disaggregated and growth‑focused reporting.