Hermleigh ISD officials admit they have more work to do after releasing the results of spring State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests.
Overall, 57 percent of Hermleigh students were graded as “approaching standards” on the test, while 26 percent “met standards” and 8 percent “mastered standards.” Students who scored in the approaching standards range or above were considered to have passed the STAAR exam.
A masters level distinction indicates that students are expected to succeed in the next grade or course with little or no academic intervention. Students demonstrated the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts, both familiar and unfamiliar, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website.
Superintendent Cassie Petty said there is definitely room for improvement on the test scores.
“It looks like we’ll receive a C grade for our district,” Petty said. “I could be worse, so we’re not going to cry about it, but we see that there’s definitely room for improvement.”
The TEA is scheduled to release letter grades for school districts and individual campuses later this year.
Petty said the goal of the district is to have at least 60 percent of its students score in approaches standard range on all tests, but added that there’s no overnight fix to help students reach that goal.
“Can we do this in a year? No,” she told trustees during their Tuesday night meeting. “We’ve got to take it in chunks. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Hermleigh officials did not release grade-by-grade passing rates. Students passing rates in the respective test subjects were:
• Reading — 58 percent approached standards, 26 percent met standards and 8 percent mastered standards.
• Math — 66 percent approached standards, 25 percent met standards and 8 percent mastered standards.
• Writing — 40 percent approached standards, 22 percent met standards and 5 percent mastered standards.
• Science — 71 percent approached standards, 38 percent met standards and 12 percent mastered standards.
• Social studies — 50 percent approached standards, 26 percent met standards and 12 percent mastered standards.
Image
Body