By Richard Zowie —
The preliminary State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results are in, and despite a few concerning areas, students overall did well.
Linda Hicks, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction in the Fredericksburg Independent School District, presented the preliminary STAAR results to the district trustees during Monday’s regular meeting.
Trustees also appointed new leadership and authorized FISD superintendent Dr. Eric Wright to negotiate an education services contract.
Early STAAR results
Hicks presented trustees with the preliminary STAAR data for the 2014-2015 school year, and Fredericksburg students met or exceeded the standard in 12 of the 17 tested areas.
Students fell below the state standard in fourth- and sixth-grade reading, fourth-grade writing, high school Algebra 1 and U.S. History.
“These are just basic numbers,” Hicks said. “It’s not meaningful as far as whether or not these are going to count. This is just the standard STAAR.”
Hicks added the results do not include other STAAR tests, which assess students with disabilities, special education students or those geared to non-native English speakers.
For this year’s STAAR test, 60 percent of a district’s students must meet the state standard. Fredericksburg’s lowest preliminary score was 67 percent in fourth-grade writing.
One hundred percent of FISD students tested passed the eighth-grade Algebra STAAR test, while 98 percent of students met the standard in high school biology.
“When we start looking at accountability, these scores will be reviewed,” Hicks said, regarding FISD preliminary scores that were lower than desired.
Hicks told the trustees the fourth-grade scores in reading and writing were surprises. FISD students scored a 69 in reading and 67 in writing to the state standard of 74 and 70, respectively.
“I know that high school is concerned about English I,” Hicks said, referring to the students’ score of 73 tying the state standard. “There could be issues with students, professional development or what’s being taught in the classrooms. We will be examining that.”
Hicks estimated the complete STAAR results would be out sometime in August.
Harper scores
In Harper ISD’s preliminary results, students met or exceeded the state standard in 11 of the 16 areas tested.
Ninety-eight of Harper High School students met or exceeded the standard in the end of course U.S. History test.
HHS students also scored 92 percent in both biology and algebra in their end of course examinations.
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