Liberty Hill ISD students posted strong results on the 2026 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, known as STAAR test, with the district scoring at or higher than the state averages on all but one exam.
Out of the 18 STAAR exams reported on by Community Impact, LHISD students only scored below the state average on the seventh grade math exam, according to newly released data from the Texas Education Agency.
“It's just very exciting for our students and our staff that we continue to perform above the region and the state,” LHISD Superintendent Travis Motal said. “There's some areas that you always want to continue to do better and refine things, but the fact that we've continued to stay at a high level is something that I'm very proud of, our board is very proud of, and our community is very proud of. It really just goes back to the classroom. Our teachers put the magic every day they do with their kids.”
The context
The TEA classifies STAAR performances into four levels:
- Did not meet grade level
- Approaches grade level
- Meets grade level
- Masters grade level
A passing result is any score of “approaches grade level” or above. Students who perform at the “approaches grade level” designation are expected to succeed in the next grade with “targeted academic intervention.”
LHISD evaluates performances across the grade, classroom and individual level to understand how to best support students, Motal said. While a student who “approaches grade level” may grasp most of fourth grade math, Motal said the student’s fifth grade teacher will work with the student to target whatever skills they demonstrated gaps in, such as fractions.
“Every kid's little different on what they need,” Motal said. “While we measure approaches [grade level] as passing, our goal is to try to get as many kids to meets and masters [grade level] as possible. When we look at being above the region and state, we don't just look at approaches, we do look at how we're doing from meets and masters.”
Statewide results indicated growth in social studies and math as reading scores remained relatively flat, according to a news release from the TEA.
By the numbers
LHISD students outscored the state average on reading tests by at least seven percentage points across all grades. Additionally, LHISD students outperformed the state average by 10 percentage points on the eighth grade social studies exam.
While LHISD students from third to sixth grade posted higher results than the state average by at least seven percentage points in math, results for the seventh grade math exam fell under the statewide results by seven percentage points.
However, eighth grade math students achieved scores three percentage points higher than the state average. Meanwhile, results for the Algebra I end-of-course exam were eight percentage points higher than the state average and six percentage points higher than last year's district results.
LHISD was on par with or exceeded state averages on all of its end-of-course exams.
“Our community wants and expects their kids performing at a high level,” Motal said. “Our teachers work very hard every year to meet that, so we're very proud of them for doing that.”
The details
One “factor” that contributed to the dip in seventh grade results is that seventh grade students in accelerated math classes take the eighth grade math exam, according to Motal.
“You have students as they continue to progress to middle school, if they are in one of our accelerated classes, they take the STAAR test for the grade above, seventh graders taking eighth grade, eighth graders would take algebra,” LHISD Superintendent Travis Motal said. “That is a part of our student population. Then there's the part that doesn't do the accelerated path, and they take the on-level test, so that's definitely a factor.”
While Motal said the district is exploring changes to seventh grade lessons to support incoming students, LHISD will also “try to fill in anything that's missing” to support the success of current seventh grade students heading into eighth grade.
“We're at that point right now where we are reflecting on the data, looking at it student by student, class by class, working with our curriculum department, so we can make adjustments into our curriculum going into next year,” Motal said.
Additionally, Motal said he hopes LHISD will “partner” with local districts to consider how to address seventh grade math scores, which he said only 43% of students in the region passed.
