The big picture
STAAR results released Aug. 16 show third through eighth grade students approaching grade level at a higher rate than the state averages across the board. Approaching grade level is equivalent to passing and indicates a student is likely to do well in the next grade level.
The most notable disparities occurred within seventh and eighth grade math scores. Almost 85% of LTISD seventh graders approached grade level compared to 35% of the state, while 90% of district eighth graders approached grade level versus 44% of the state.
The statewide scores confirmed students are continuing to recover from learning loss during the pandemic in reading and language arts but are struggling to reach prepandemic math scores, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Also of note
The district also maintained or outperformed its scores from the 2021-22 school year. Scores stayed the same for seventh and eighth grade reading and sixth grade math while all others rose.
This year was the first time students took the STAAR since the state redesigned the test to better align with classroom learning. The redesigned test was mostly administered online and included new types of questions, cross-curricular reading passages and evidence-based writing assessments.
“This test is far more rigorous in just the way that it is written than it ever has been in the past,” said Lyndsae Benton, LTISD’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, at an Aug. 16 board of trustees meeting. “Even when we maintained and stayed at the same relative score level, we’re very excited about that because it was a lot harder test.”
What they're saying
“There’s a lot to celebrate,” Benton said. “We’re able to see the fruits of the labor of the instructional coaches, of the principals and the assistant principals, and most of all teachers who’ve been working really hard.”
Learn more
Parents can view their children's individual STAAR scores on the TEA’s Texas Assessments website, including their student's answers for each question and recommendations for academic improvement.
