Matt Warford, Bastrop ISD's associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction, shared BISD’s 2023 accountability update at the Sept. 19 school board meeting.

According to Warford, following the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness redesign, test scores did not significantly change despite the more challenging test design. To address previous test taking challenges, the district is focusing on digital literacy and learning in the classroom.

““BISD is on the pathway from good to great. There are many good things happening, including we’ve received many grants, our art program continues to excel, our digital learning continues to enhance itself,” Warford said. “We just keep upping our ante to what we can do here in Bastrop.”

Meeting updates rundown

The following statistics were shared at the Sept. 19 meeting. Data reflects the passing rate change in 2023 compared to 2022.
  • 8% gain in high school biology end-of-course passing rate
  • 5% and 10% score increases in eighth grade and high school U.S. history pass rates, respectively
  • Slight decreases in third grade reading and math pass rate
  • Small decreases in pass rates for middle school English language arts
Other trends addressed in the update include an increased passing rate for fourth, sixth, English 1 and 2 classes as well as improved performance mathematics.


“We do see some overall trends that we are excited about—those positive upticks,” Warford said. “We also know some cohort areas that we’re already tackling and we’re addressing. They’re already on our radar, and we believe that the academic strategies that we have in place are going to be able to address them.”