How is the state takeover of Providence schools going? Here's the breakdown.

Five years in, the Providence Public School District "has made notable progress" under the state takeover , according to a report released Friday by the Rhode Island Department of Education.

But the review, conducted by national consulting firm SchoolWorks, also found plenty of room for improvement – and doesn't indicate when Providence schools might be able to return to local control.

Here are some of the key findings from the report.

Academics

Progress:

• The district "implemented activities and interventions in an attempt to improve scores on standardized state assessments," such as before-school and after-school tutoring and "Saturday academies."
• The district increased the number of multilingual learners in advanced academic courses.
• The number of students who graduate from high school within four years has increased by 3%. While the district isn't on track to meet its goals, that statistic is considered notable "as there has been a steady 1-3% increase each year since 2021."
• The number of 4-year-olds enrolled in "high-quality" Pre-K increased by 12 percentage points.
• The percentage of ninth graders on track for post-secondary success has increased by 11 percentage points and exceeds the district's targets.

Needs improvement:

• The district is not meeting its targets for standardized testing scores in 3rd, 8th and 11th grade English Language Arts and 8th and 11th grade math.
• The percentage of students who graduate with college credit, AP credit or a Career and Technical Education credential has increased but is not meeting the district's goals.

Teachers

Progress:

• The school district saw as many applicants in 2023-24 as in 2019-20, and the applicant pool is "more diverse than ever before." More than one third of applicants are teachers of color.
• The percentage of teachers holding and using the English as a Second Language/ Bilingual Dual Language (ESL/BDL) Certification has increased by 13 percentage points, and the district is on track to meet its target goal.
• The district is meeting its targets for teacher attendance and teachers' access to professional development.

Needs improvement:

• The number of fully staffed classrooms was down 4% at the beginning of this year.
• Even though more teacher applicants are people of color, the number of working teachers of color has decreased from the post-pandemic baseline.
• The number of qualified applicants for open positions has decreased.
• Math, special education and multiple-language learning teacher positions remain hard to fill.

Attendance

Progress:

• The number of students who are present for 90% of the school year increased by 7%.

Needs improvement:

• PPSD is 39 percentage points short of meeting its attendance goals.

Community engagement and perception

Progress:

• The percentage of students "who feel a sense of belonging in schools" has increased 17% since the 2020-2021 school year, which is considered the post-pandemic baseline.
• The number of families "with a favorable perception of being involved with their child’s school" has grown by 11 percentage points since 2021.
• The district "increased the percentage of families who believe they are welcome in their child’s school" and has already exceeded its goals in that area.

Needs improvement:

• Compared to the post-pandemic baseline, the percentage of families "with a favorable perception of the district" decreased by 7%. (In other words, the number of families who have a positive perceptionof their individual schools has increased, but perceptions of the district overall are more negative.)

Central Office / morale

Progress:

• Teachers reported "having access to high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum" for math and ELA.
• District leaders say that better access to data is helping improve student outcomes.
• Changes have "increased efficiency" and "transferred more decision-making power to school leaders."

Needs improvement:

• School leaders and teachers "reported that there is a lack of transparency about how district-level decisions are made," which was echoed by families and community members.
• High staff turnover has "created uncertainty" in the district. Teachers, parents, and community members believe that turnover "has been caused by a lack of trust in the district and the turnaround process," in addition to "frequent changes in district leaders, initiatives, and budget challenges."
• The number of school leaders who have a favorable perception of PPSD has decreased.

What officials are saying about the report

In a letter on Friday, Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said that the findings "show the district is moving in the right direction towards meeting the ambitious goals we set, but more work remains."

The district "is on the right track, but it remains at a vulnerable point where progress can be easily reversed if the right conditions for long-term success are not in place," she wrote.

Infante-Green said that in the coming weeks, she will decide what the next step in the process should be — continuing the takeover, coming up with a new plan, or returning PPSD to local control.

Critics of the state takeover cast doubts on the report, noting that it was commissioned by RIDE, which is leading the takeover.

"RIDE commissioning a progress report is like a student filling in their own report card," Providence School Board President Erlin Rogel said in a statement. "This intervention has been plagued from the start by a lack of accountability and independent evaluation, and this report only worsens that issue."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How is the state takeover of Providence schools going? Here's the breakdown.