MIDLAND The Texas Education Agency has released the spring 2024 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) End-of-Course (EOC assessment results). These results, a key measure of student performance and academic readiness, include Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History assessments.
On the current state assessments, students are scored in four ways: Did Not Meet, Approaches, Meets, and Masters. While approaches counts as passing for state accountability, the district is focused on improving the percentage of students who score meets and masters. The district is pleased to report that it saw gains or maintained in meets and masters in seven of 10 areas. When reviewing data in this report and comparing it to the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR), a few points often differ. These results are based on STAAR summary reports released by TEA on June 4, representing all students who took the test on the designated test day in Midland ISD and statewide. In contrast, the TAPR report reflects a wide range of information on students’ performance in each school and district in Texas.
When looking at the meets category, this year’s EOC results show the district improved in two of the five areas. When looking at the percentage of students passing, the district improved or held steady in three of the five areas tested. The percentage of students meeting grade level shows an increase in English II and Biology I; there was a 5% increase in the percentage of students meeting grade level, reaching 46% in English II, and a 3% increase in the percentage of students meeting grade level in Biology I, reaching 50%. The percentage of students meeting grade level remained consistent in Algebra I and English I. In U.S. History, there was a 6% decrease in the percentage of students meeting grade level, from 63% to 57%.
The 2023 STAAR assessment was redesigned due to House Bill (HB) 3906, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. New components include:
- Online Testing and Accommodations
- New Question Types
- Cross-Curricular Passages
- Evidence-based Writing
In 2024, the Reading Language Arts scores, including the English I and English II assessments, reflect the first implementation of automated scoring by TEA.
EOC results show that the district saw improvements across multiple areas. While MISD is celebrating these positive gains, there is still work to be done to close the gaps between district performance and that of the state.
At the Meets level, the district maintained or improved from last year in 4 out of 5 areas – English I, II, Biology, and Algebra I.
At the Approaches level, the district maintained or improved from last year in 3 of 5 areas – Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History.
“The 2024 STAAR End-of-Course results indicate progress in several areas. When we receive results, we begin by comparing those results to the previous year(s),” Superintendent Stephanie Howard said in a news release. “We also strive to be at or above the state performance level in all areas. While we are not to that point, I am pleased that we closed the gap between the district and the state in Biology.”
The release said MISD eagerly anticipates the release of the 2024 accountability ratings. Although the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has not yet published the 2023 ratings, receiving this data is crucial for the district. This information will allow the district to accurately assess current performance, identify improvement areas, and implement targeted strategies to enhance student outcomes.
Midland ISD recognizes an opportunity to learn from STAAR EOC assessment results. In response to, and as a proactive approach, MISD has aligned instructional resources, including a literacy reset and reframe, conducted a root cause analysis and created action plans in all content areas, engaged in the development of student data trackers to improve continuous academic reporting, and streamlined data protocols at the district, campus, and classroom levels.
“I am proud to report that on Biology and U.S. History, we saw the highest district scores in five years. We believe that actions taken this past year, such as reforming literacy in our K-8 classrooms, will have a great impact on student performance in the future,” Howard said. “They also reinforce the action we took to bring back our content specialists, which we refer to as content coordinators. While both actions will pay off in years to come, we must focus on making short-term gains while aiming for long-term systemic improvement. We are committed to improving student outcomes and working to reverse the trend of performing below the state average that the district has seen over the years.”
The district will continue to disaggregate the data received with the EOC STAAR results and will have more information throughout the summer and early fall as accountability subsets are finalized. The district will release STAAR 3rd-8th results on June 14.
