Kathy Burbank, LTISD director of accountability and assessment, presented the midyear results of two universal screeners provided to kindergarten through fifth grade and kindergarten through second grade students in September and January at a Feb. 21 board of trustees meeting.
The screeners help identify learning gaps and allow teachers to provide additional instruction to some students, she said.
A closer look
From September to January, students demonstrated growth in math at or above the district's projections in every grade, except for second grade. Kindergarten students showed the most growth in math followed by first and third grade students.
“Our second grade teams are already starting that intervention and finding out what they need to work on with those students,” Burbank said.
In reading, students grew above the projected growth in third grade and at the projected levels in fourth and fifth grade.
Additional data for kindergarten through second grade showed the percentage of students performing well below or below benchmark in reading decreased from September to January. Meanwhile, the percentage of students performing at or above benchmark in reading increased in almost every grade level, except second grade.
In second grade reading, 31% of students were performing at benchmark in January compared to 32% in September.
What they’re saying
“It’s wonderful to see all the progress our students are making just from the beginning of the year,” Place 2 board member Lauren White said.
Also of note
Some of the data is used to predict how students will perform on the 2024 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, Burbank said. At least 83% of students from second to fifth grade are projected to pass the STAAR in math while at least 84% of third to fifth grade students are projected to pass in reading, the presentation showed.
