Some context
The Texas Education Agency released statewide results of the spring STAAR exams on Aug. 16.
This year’s exams were redesigned “to better align with classroom instruction” following the passage of House Bill 3906 in 2019. The exams were administered almost exclusively online, focused on writing and included more questions that mirrored how students learned in class, officials said. Students requiring accommodations could still complete paper exams.
Public school students must perform to at least the “approaches grade level” standard to pass the test.
The breakdown
The percentage of CISD students in grades 3-8 approaching grade level on each exam stayed at or a few points above or below last year’s results, according to the TEA. Students in each grade level performed better in mathematics this year compared to last year.Zooming out
Statewide results show reading and language arts proficiency in grades 3-8 remains largely unchanged as students recover from learning loss due to the pandemic, according to the TEA. Meanwhile, schools are struggling to bring scores to prepandemic levels in math.
Quote of note
CISD views STAAR test results as only one assessment of a child’s academic progress, Superintendent Brad Hunt said in a statement. CISD supports a community-based accountability system which relies less on STAAR assessments and more reflects the expectations of its district community.
“We look at the whole child and desire for our students to have a full experience emphasizing academics, athletics, fine arts, service and much more,” Hunt said in an email. “Our incredible staff are partnering with our students and families to create innovative learning experiences and opportunities that defy the ability of a standardized test to measure the growth of our learners. As we like to say, ‘You can’t test that.’”
Learn more
Parents can visit www.texasassessment.gov to access their child’s individual STAAR results. The online portal includes students’ individual scores, how a student answered each question on their exams and recommendations to help the student grow academically.
“We recommend parents log in and learn more about their child’s STAAR scores,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in a news release. “Being fully informed about their child’s academic progress can help them work with their child’s teacher during the new school year.”
A breakdown of STAAR results by state, region, district and campus is available here.
