Despite lower scores and more difficult test, district's students outperform state average in all categories and subject areas
The results of the first edition of the STAAR test at Conroe ISD were released last month, with the scores showing what many education leaders expected: a much more stringent test than TAKS and lower passing rates than the previous state assessment exam.
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. In each grade level and subject area, Conroe ISD students outperformed the state average. Of the 17 subject areas among grade levels, an average of 10.5 percent more Conroe ISD students than students statewide achieved a satisfactory passing grade.
"I think overall, [the students] responded as expected and rose to the level of expectations," said Chris Hines, superintendent of curriculum and instruction for Conroe ISD.
Although the district's students generally performed better than their statewide peers, they struggled to achieve the high scores previously seen in the TAKS administration. Of the same 17 subject areas, an average of 9.5 percent fewer Conroe ISD students met satisfactory passing rates on STAAR than they did on TAKS in 2011.
