Conroe ISD students performed better, on average, on all State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests taken last spring compared with the statewide test results in each subject, including in math, reading, writing, science and social studies, the Texas Education Agency reported.
"Conroe ISD students and faculty work hard on a daily basis, and it is reflected through the success of our students," Conroe ISD Superintendent Don Stockton said.
Seventy-seven percent of Conroe ISD students passed the reading test, while 65 percent of students passed statewide. For the writing tests, 60 percent of Conroe ISD students passed, and 48 percent passed throughout the state, according to data from the TEA.
In algebra I, 86 percent of Conroe ISD students passed, while 78 percent passed statewide, according to the TEA. In geometry, 90 percent of students in the district passed, and 86 percent of students passed throughout Texas.
Public school students in Texas in grades 3 through 8 were issued the STAAR test for the first year in full in the fall of 2012. District students took the 2013 test in March and April.
This year, 92 percent of Conroe ISD students passed biology, while 85 percent passed statewide, the TEA said. For world geography, 86 percent of the district's students passed, and 75 percent of students passed throughout the state.
"We are proud of our STAAR results and look forward to continued success in Conroe ISD," Stockton said.
Although Conroe ISD students performed higher than the statewide results, within the district, students scored lower than the previous year on all tests. That is partly because of a more difficult test this year, the TEA reported.
According to the TEA, "overall test difficulty will be increased by including more rigorous items. The rigor of items will be increased by assessing skills at a greater depth and level of cognitive complexity. In this way, the tests will be better able to measure the growth of higher-achieving students."
Geometry results saw the largest decline, with 100 percent of Conroe ISD students passing the test in 2012, compared with 90 percent this year.
Two percent fewer students passed the reading test in Conroe ISD in 2012—79 percent passed in 2012 and 77 percent passed in 2013. For the writing test, the difference is higher, at 6 percent of a decline—66 percent passed the test in 2012 and 60 percent passed last spring.
Algebra was also a two percent decline—88 percent of Conroe ISD students passed in 2012 and 86 percent passed this year.
In biology, there was a 2 percent drop, with 94 percent of district students passing the test, compared with 92 percent this year.
In world geography, there was a 4 percent decline. Ninety percent of Conroe ISD students passed the test in 2012, compared with 86 percent who passed it this year.
