On average, students who began with the lowest prior-year scores reached a greater share of their individual growth targets
The Delaware Department of Education today released the 2026 Delaware School Success Framework (DSSF) Academic Progress results, also called the Growth Index, showing how much progress students in grades 4 through 8 made toward their individual growth targets in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics during the 2025-26 school year.
For the first time, the department is releasing the statewide DSSF Growth Index as a distinct part of its annual assessment and accountability rollout.
The Growth Index is the average percentage of students’ individual growth targets achieved. It does not represent the percentage of students who met their growth targets. Instead, it reflects how much progress students made toward those targets, on average, and is the growth measure used in Delaware’s DSSF accountability calculation.
Statewide, students in the prior-year lowest-performing group on average achieved a greater share of their growth targets: about 67 percent in ELA and 63 percent in math, compared with 59 percent and 58 percent statewide. Put another way, if each student’s individual growth target were a 100-mile journey, students statewide traveled about 59 miles toward their ELA targets and 58 miles toward their math targets, on average. Students who began with the lowest prior-year scores traveled about 67 miles in ELA and 63 miles in math, on average.
“Here is what this all means: Delaware students are moving, and on average students who started with the lowest scores are moving farther toward their growth targets than students statewide,” Secretary of Education Cindy Marten said. “That is encouraging, but it is not enough. Too many students remain below grade level, and even the stronger-growing group did not reach its full target on average. Growth tells us where momentum exists. Proficiency tells us how much farther we still have to go. We need both, and then we need to take appropriate action.”
Understanding the Growth Index and proficiency
The Growth Index results follow the state’s Aug. 18 release of student proficiency data. Both measures use state assessment results, but each answers a different question.
Proficiency shows whether students met grade-level academic expectations. The Growth Index shows the average share of individual growth targets students achieved based on where they started academically.
Each student receives an individual growth target based on the student’s previous year’s state assessment. The Growth Index then measures how much of those individual targets students achieved on this year’s assessment.
Delaware’s 59.3 percent ELA Growth Index does not mean 59.3 percent of students fully met their growth targets. Students statewide achieved an average of 59.3 percent of their individual ELA growth targets. In mathematics, students achieved an average of 57.55 percent of their individual growth targets.
Delaware reports growth in two ways. The Growth Index released today asks how much of their individual targets students achieved, on average, and is used in the DSSF accountability calculation. In November, the school report card will show the percentage of students who reached their entire growth target. Both calculations use the same students and individual targets. One recognizes every part of the journey; the other counts how many students crossed the finish line.
A student who begins below grade level might make substantial progress while remaining below the proficiency threshold. A student already meeting grade-level expectations might remain proficient while making less progress toward an individual growth target. Looking at proficiency and the Growth Index together provides a fuller picture of where students are academically and how much progress they are making from their starting points.
Where the Growth Index stood out
The department also identified schools with Growth Index results statistically higher than the statewide average.
In ELA, schools with Growth Index results statistically higher than the statewide average included Etta J. Wilson Elementary School in Christina School District at 86.18 percent, Albert H. Jones Elementary School in Christina at 83.8 percent and Lulu Ross Elementary School in Milford School District at 78.88 percent.
In mathematics, schools with Growth Index results statistically higher than the statewide average included Claymont Elementary School in Brandywine School District at 81.07 percent, Hanby Elementary School in Brandywine at 80.41 percent and Etta J. Wilson Elementary School in Christina at 79.07 percent.
Fourteen schools had Growth Index results above the statewide average in both ELA and mathematics, spanning districts and charter schools across Delaware. Complete school-level results are available with the department’s 2026 growth data.
District/Charter School | School
Appoquinimink School District | Crystal Run Elementary School
Appoquinimink School District | Alfred G. Waters Middle School
Brandywine School District | Hanby Elementary School
Caesar Rodney School District | W.B. Simpson Elementary School
Caesar Rodney School District | Major George S. Welch Elementary School
Cape Henlopen School District | Rehoboth Elementary School
Christina School District | Etta J. Wilson Elementary School
Indian River School District | Georgetown Elementary School
Indian River School District | North Georgetown Elementary School
Lake Forest School District | Lake Forest Central Elementary School
Milford School District | Lulu Ross Elementary School
Newark Charter School | Newark Charter School
Red Clay Consolidated School District | Richey Elementary School
Seaford School District | Seaford Central Elementary School
Looking at the Growth Index alongside proficiency also reveals different patterns among schools. Caesar Rodney School District’s Major George S. Welch Elementary School, W.B. Simpson Elementary School and Magnolia Middle School, for example, are above the state average for both proficiency and Growth Index results in ELA and mathematics. Students in these schools are meeting grade-level expectations at higher rates while also making stronger progress toward their individual growth targets.
Looking at proficiency and growth together generally shows four patterns. Schools with above-average proficiency and above-average growth show students meeting grade-level expectations at higher rates while continuing to make strong progress. Schools with below-average proficiency and above-average growth show stronger momentum from a lower starting point. Above-average proficiency with below-average growth signals a need to ensure students continue progressing, while below-average proficiency and below-average growth points to a greater need for support and improvement.
From results to action
Proficiency and the Growth Index help the department identify where students are meeting grade-level expectations, where they are making stronger progress and where greater support is needed. As part of its broader approach to school support and accountability, the department will learn from schools producing strong results, identify student needs, align support to those needs, monitor progress and follow through where outcomes need to improve.
Academic Progress is one component of the Delaware School Success Framework, the state’s school accountability system. In addition to the proficiency data released Aug. 18 and today’s Academic Progress results, the state will release School Quality and Student Success measures on Sept. 22, English language proficiency and graduation data on Sept. 29, and complete DSSF results on Oct. 15.