District officials presented the early childhood testing data at a Sept. 19 board of trustees meeting alongside data showing improved performance in college, career and military readiness, or CCMR, for high school seniors.
The setup
House Bill 3, passed in 2019, requires Texas school districts to adopt five-year goals for early childhood reading and math as well as CCMR indicators.
Early childhood performance is measured by the percentage of third grade students that met grade level on the STAAR.
Meeting grade level indicates a student is highly likely to succeed in the next grade level and often requires students to perform 20% higher than the passing rate, which is known as approaching grade level, said Brenda Cruz, LISD assistant superintendent of empowered learning.
A closer look
From the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year, the percentage of third grade students meeting grade level in reading declined from 62% to 56%.
Reading performance dropped most significantly for emergent bilingual students by 14 percentage points and by 10 percentage points for Hispanic students, LISD data shows. Many LISD students report speaking Spanish as their home language, Cruz said.
In math, the percentage of third grade students meeting grade level declined from 53% to 49% from the 2022-23 to 2023-24 school year. Math performance improved by 3 percentage points for economically disadvantaged students while declining for other student groups and ethnicities.
Performance was lowest in both reading and math for special education, economically disadvantaged and Black third grade students, according to LISD data.
Student performance in math is yet to return to prepandemic levels across the state as well as in LISD. Despite seeing performance dips, LISD third grade students performed above the state averages in both subjects.
What they’re saying
In 2023, the state introduced a redesigned STAAR administered fully online and featuring more open-ended, written questions as opposed to multiple choice. Several district officials and board members highlighted these changes when discussing the lower performance data for 2024.
Additionally, some special education students were no longer able to take the STAAR Alternate due to changes in state requirements, Cruz said.
Beyond the STAAR, LISD analyzes student performance through a variety of testing methods under its balanced assessment framework, she said.
“This one number up here does not tell a story,” Cruz said about the STAAR data. “It is one measure on one day, one grade level.”
The approach
LISD is looking to provide professional learning for staff on writing and open-response testing strategies, Cruz said.
Last school year, the district launched a reading intervention redesign for kindergarten through first grade students this year, which resulted in a 19% decrease in the number of first grade students at-risk in reading in January compared to May, district officials said at a February 15 meeting.
“The key with reading is early intervention,” said Chris Clark, LISD assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, at the Sept. 19 meeting. “The earlier you make those gains with students, the less likely you are to end up with performance gaps down the road.”
The district has done the following to improve student math performance through a new math initiative:
- Reviewed curriculum for second through fifth grade teachers
- Hired five elementary school math specialists and one secondary school math specialist
- Hired five new co-teachers
- Renewed commitment to professional learning communities
Also of note
From the class of 2022 to the class of 2023, the district saw a 2 percentage point increase in the percentage of graduating seniors exhibiting preparedness for entering college, a career or the military.
LISD has set a goal for 90% of students in the class of 2024 to meet CCMR indicators, Clark said.
Students can meet CCMR criteria through their performance on the Texas Success Initiative, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams; taking dual-credit courses; and earning industry-based certifications, according to district information.
