STAAR Report

By Donnie A. Lucas

Preliminary scores for the spring 2023 STAAR testing for grades 3-8 were released by the Texas Education Agency last week, with local scores exceeding or matching statewide scores in almost all areas.

Results also were mostly higher compared to last year’s results for local students in tested areas.

One grade level fell below state and regional averages in three of four tested areas.

“The scores from last year’s eighth grade class are a little concerning,” superintendent Jonathan Scott told the school board during a meeting on Monday. “Basically, we scored above the state average across the board except for the eighth grade.”

The class matched the state passing rate in reading but fell short in math, science, and social studies. The group did not score well the prior year as seventh graders, but there were some areas of growth shown in this year’s scores.

“Our goal is to be above the state results in the ‘meets’ categories on every test,” Scott said. “We will continue to work on growth in those areas.”

Director of student services, Leigh Lowe, echoed that the test results show progress was made during the last year.

“Overall, we had more students score in ‘meets’ and ‘masters’ levels this time,” she said. “So, we aren’t disappointed but have to keep working.”

Results for the STAAR tests are reported on three scoring levels including “approaches,” which is currently rated as passing and is when a student is close to meeting state standards. The next category is “meets” when a student actually scores at or above the state standard.

A third category, “masters,” reports scores that well exceed the passing and “meets expectations” level.

All three categories count as passing by the state. Originally, the plan developed by the state was to eliminate the “approaches” designation as passing, but since the COVID-19 epidemic kept many Texas students out of the classroom for a year or more, that step has not been implemented.

“What we are most happy about is the amount of growth students have shown over last year, which was our goal,” Lowe said. “Almost every area tested showed growth by students.”

Results for grade 3-6 at Nancy Smith Elementary also improved overall.

“As a whole, we are proud of the results,” said principal John Gallagher. “We will spend more time digging into the data, but the preliminary results show that a lot of growth was made by students.”

End-of-Course test results for high school students were reported several weeks ago. The state held the reports for grades 3-8 until last week.