Questions & Answers

Q: What does the Milestones Framework mean for my student?
A: Milestones are key checkpoints to determine how your student is progressing through school. Each Milestone links to the next. If your student is ready to read in first grade, for example, he or she is more likely to be reading to learn in third grade and so forth.

Q: What is my role in helping my student meet his or her Milestones? What is the teacher’s role?
A: Collaboration between families and teachers — and students — is essential. Ask your student’s teacher how you can help your student. See tips on this page.

Q: How will I know my student is meeting the Milestones?
A: PPS will report annually on student performance as a whole but won’t issue individual student reports on Milestones. Talk with your student’s teachers to be sure he or she is on track.

Q: My student is already on track academically. What does the Milestones Framework mean for us?
A: Milestones can help you look ahead to keep your student on track.

Q: Are the Milestones unique to Portland Public Schools?
A: School districts use educational data in different ways to increase student achievement. This framework is unique, but we borrowed ideas from other districts.

Q: What is Portland Public Schools trying to achieve with Milestones?
A: We want all of our students on track at all levels. Analyzing student performance at each Milestone helps us see who is not on track and provide needed support.

Q: How do the Milestones address the achievement gap in Portland Public Schools?
A: PPS is focused on the achievement of all students and also on closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color. At every Milestone, we are measuring performance of students overall and subgroups of students. We’ve set targets to improve overall student performance and to close the gap.

Q: Why is closing the achievement gap important?
A: Our nation’s strength depends on everybody being ready to compete. PPS must do more to educate all students equally well. Our students of color tend to fare worse academically than their white peers, yet skin color should not predict academic success. Closing the gap means removing that predictability.

Q: With the focus on closing the achievement gap, will students who are high-achieving be ignored?
A: We want all students to show continuous growth, regardless of their starting point. Our underlying goal: Every student succeeds.