EDUCATION Schools uncertain on how STAAR redesign will a ect them
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
WHAT’S THE SCORE? Clear Creek ISD scored an 89 out of 100 in all categories of its accountability ratings. The numbers are based on several di erent factors, including how well the district does on the State of Texas Assessments of Academics Readiness, how students do over time and how di erent student groups perform compared to each other.
2021-22 accountability rating scores breakdown*:
Pearland ISD Houston ISD *THESE NUMBERS REPRESENT SCALED SCORES.
For the rst time in ve years, how the state assesses student readiness has changed and for districts such as Clear Creek ISD, o cials are waiting to see how it could a ect their scores. In 2019, the 86th Texas Legisla- ture passed House Bill 3906, which made changes to the State of Texas Assessments of Academics Read- iness, or STAAR, e ective by the 2022-23 school year. Despite helping guide the changes, many educators are concerned the redesign and new accountability system could create challenges. STAAR exams measure student progress in reading, math, science, social studies and writing—a goal that hasn’t changed with the redesign, according to the Texas Education Agency. However, some district o cials and public school advocates said overall, the STAAR exam is weighted so heavily that other programs are overlooked when measuring student and school performance. “We cannot get rid of the STAAR test. … What we can do is gure out how to weigh the STAAR di erently,” said Bob Popinski, senior director of policy for Raise Your Hand Texas, an education advocacy organization for BY EMILY LINCKE & JAMES T. NORMAN
examples include the test now being online to help get results faster and di erent types of questions that can appear on the test. For Clear Creek ISD, the district adjusts its curriculum annually and has never had a philosophy of teaching to the test, Chief Communications O cer Elaina Polsen said. However, o cials are declining to go in-depth due to not yet having the total accountability results. “Usually this time of year we would be able to talk about this,” Polsen said. A F refresh In addition to changing the test structure, the state has also adjusted how it measures district and school accountability with the A F refresh. The TEA has traditionally handed down an A F accountability score for districts and schools based on three di erent domains. This year, schools will receive a score calcu- lated by a changed method. While scores will come into play for CCISD in how it’s graded by the state, the STAAR is just one of many assessments the district uses to see how it’s performing, Polsen said. Raise Your Hand Texas in an October 2022 report recommended the STAAR should count for less than 50% of a school’s score to counteract what some see as the test having too much weight. “We’re not getting rid of assess- ment,” Popinski said. “But there are other indicators that are just as important.”
Clear Creek ISD
Scores are calculated for three areas 1
Student achievement Re ects students’ scores on STAAR; graduation rates; and college, career and military readiness 89 93 78 School progress Re ects students’ performance over time and how a school’s performance compares to other schools with similar economically disadvantaged student populations 89 92 89 Closing the gaps Re ects how well a school or district is ensuring all student groups are successful 89 96 86
The higher score of either “student achievement” or “school progress” accounts for 70% of the total score, while “closing the gaps” accounts for 30%. Take the higher score 2
30% closing the gaps
70% student
achievement or school progress
School progress score: 89 x 70% + Closing the gaps score: 89 x 30% = 89
Student achievement score: 93 x 70% + Closing the gaps score: 96 x 30% = 93.9
School progress score: 89 x 70% + Closing the gaps score: 86 x 30% = 88.1 A = 90-100 B = 80-89 C = 70-79 Not Rated = 0-69
Round the total score to a whole number to determine the overall ranking. Round the total 3
Texas public schools. Local district response
93.9 rounds to an overall score of 94 . A
88.1 rounds to an overall score of 88 . B
The overall score is 89 . B
NOTE: SCHOOL DISTRICTS RECEIVING A SCORE LOWER THAN A 70 ARE GIVEN A NOT RATED LABEL.
TEA o cials have said the STAAR test was redesigned to “make the test more tightly aligned to the classroom experience.” A couple
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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BAY AREA EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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