Students outperform state and region on STAAR

Preliminary STAAR and End of Course (EOC) scores by grade level in core subject areas were released August 16 by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Overall scores show Midlothian ISD students are achieving higher in comparison to students across the state and region in Reading, Math, English, Algebra, Science and Social Studies. The MISD Board of Trustees received an update on the preliminary results at its August 21 Regular Meeting.  

“Teachers thoughtfully design meaningful instruction all year long and the preliminary results show the fruition of that hard work,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Karen Rue. “We celebrate our students' outstanding performance and their agility to adjust to a completely restructured state exam.” 

This year, the state redesigned STAAR and EOC assessments to better align with and mirror classroom instruction. The new test structure allows students to demonstrate acquired learning. For the first time, all students in the State of Texas also took the state assessment online. “Teachers and students are to be commended,” said Chief Academic Officer Shelle Blaylock. “This test is much more comprehensive than what our students have been expected to reach in the past. They absorbed a significantly redesigned test and, under pressure, rose to the occasion of achieving higher than their peers.” 

Test redesigns included significant changes to the reading assessment. For the first time at all grade levels, the reading test included writing a responsive essay to passages read, as well as editing and revising content. MISD students demonstrated competency under the total redesign of this test and achieved higher than the state and region in all grades 3-8 for reading. 

English and Algebra passing rates for MISD high school students are above the state and region. The English exam underwent a total redesign, and MISD students performed 14 percentage points higher than students across the state and region. The state and region average in Algebra is 78 percent; MISD’s passing average is nine percentage points higher. 

MISD’s grades 3-8 math results outpaced their peers across the state and region in all performance levels with some significant increases above the state and region in grades 4, 5, 6 and 8. MISD also outperformed the state and regional averages in social studies, which is among one of the most challenging state exams. In science, MISD students achieved ten percentage points higher than the state and region.   

The preliminary data presented by the state shows MISD teachers are working to meet the needs of every student. “Our Balanced Scorecard goals challenge us to ensure every student exhibits yearly growth in core subjects,” said Blaylock. “We celebrate these student gains.” 

MISD attributes student success on last spring’s state assessment to the district's intensive work to establish strong common instructional practices that include cross-curricular writing efforts with English departments and other core subject areas. “Our teachers and campus administrators are paving the way in strengthening critical teaching and learning strategies that lead to student learning.” 

The district is now taking the next steps to look at what the preliminary results mean and how the information can help inform continuous improvement efforts. “Our goal is to work diligently to increase the percentage of students performing at the meets and masters levels while decreasing the percentage of students that do not approach passing standards,” said Rue. 

Statewide grade 7 math results show that all Texas students are not performing at the same level on math as they are in other subject areas. “We have been very focused on instructional strategies for grade 7 math well before the redesigned STAAR test, and those efforts did result in some positive gains with MISD students achieving higher than peers,” said Blaylock. “This is an area of continuous improvement for us.” 

View the Midlothian ISD Preliminary STAAR/EOC Results report from the August 21 Board of Trustees meeting here.

Families can view their student’s state assessment results by visiting their Midlothian ISD Skyward Family Access account. Instructions for accessing scores can be found here.