At the Aug. 26 board meeting, LCISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens said the goal is to raise campus ratings until “all campuses are A campuses,” while officials laid out plans to implement improvement plans at campuses rated C or lower.
Meanwhile, KISD Superintendent Ken Gregorski said the district’s success is the result of targeted interventions and a districtwide commitment to student growth.
"To be the best is not a surprise, but it’s also not taken for granted,” he said at the Aug. 18 board meeting.
The highlights
Brian Moore, LCISD director of reporting, assessment and accountability, said LCISD’s Hutchinson Elementary was one of only 95 campuses in the state to leap from a C to an A between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.
However, the largest campus growth occurred in KISD, where Wolman Elementary went from a D to an A between 2022-23 and 2024-25, per the released data.
Other significant growths between 2022-23 and 2024-25 include:
- LCISD’s Pink and Meyer elementary schools rising from D to B
- KISD’s Stephens and Leonard elementary schools rising from a D to B
- KISD’s Roosevelt and Creech elementary schools rising from C to A
The final scores are derived from student performance on State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, end-of-course exams, graduation rates and College, Career, and Military Readiness, or CCMR, scores, per the TEA scoring rubric.
While graduation rates have not changed more than one point since the 2022-23 school year, both districts showed growth in the percentage of graduates earning a CCMR credit. KISD grew from 77% to 83%, while LCISD grew from 64% to 95%.
“Lots of work is going on behind the scenes for CCMR,” KISD trustee Rebecca Fox said at the Aug. 18 board meeting. “Campuses are very involved in making sure that every child is reaching their CCMR potential.”
Most graduates received the credit through college entrance exam scores and college preparation courses, which Moore said have been recently expanded in LCISD. Almost a third of graduates received an industry-based certification in both districts for the 2024-25 school year.
Community Impact previously reported that both districts had an upward enrollment trend in career and technical education programs, with LCISD slated to open a new career center in fall 2026 and KISD making plans to expand its Miller Career and Technology Center to accommodate student demand.
Digging deeper
Natalie Martinez, KISD executive director of school improvement, said the academic performance is driven by a districtwide focus on student growth and by helping all students go beyond passing STAAR exams. She said teachers and principals get personalized support through coaching, data reviews and behavior guidance, with every campus—regardless of performance—receiving regular help from district support teams.
“Our focus on that child up here and the focus on the kid in the red is the same,” she said. “We have to focus on all kids.”
Meanwhile, Moore noted the 2024-25 STAAR results showed more LCISD students reaching "meets" and "masters" levels than in previous years, which he said is a testament to the district's instructional teams and teachers focused on depth of understanding.
“Our expectation is that we have more students scoring at either 'meets' or 'masters' grade level to demonstrate their full proficiency in the subject area,” he said.
Taking a step back
While the 89th Texas Legislature voted to replace the STAAR exam with three other exams during the second special session, Nivens said he welcomed the level of accountability upheld by the exams.
"Even though there’s a lot of comments about the STAAR assessment and getting rid of it—STAAR is the name of the game,” he said. “We don’t mind accountability at all—we should be held accountable to make sure we take care of young people."
Looking ahead
In 2024-25, only one campus in LCISD—Travis Elementary—earned a D and will now receive targeted intervention as required by state law, Moore said.
Though not state-mandated, LCISD campuses earning a C will also implement campus improvement plans with clear targets to raise student outcomes, Moore said. These plans may include internal support and external partnerships.
Meanwhile, KISD had three campuses receive a D rating, down from five in the 2023-24 school year. Martinez said the district has already launched intervention plans for these schools, offering targeted support including curriculum guidance, behavioral strategies, staffing enhancements and leadership training.
