Education
BY WESLEY GARDNER & EMILY LINCKE
Education Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, ranging from new campuses to budget details to bond elections. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting them. In this issue, you’ll learn more about local results from the spring 2024 administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, as well as recent changes that have impacted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process. Our cover story looks at the budget challenges districts all over the state of Texas—including Spring and Klein ISDs—are facing in the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year. District officials cite a variety of issues contributing to these financial challenges, including high rates of inflation and a lack of additional funding from the state. To read additional public education coverage and keep up with news throughout the month, visit communityimpact.com/newsletter to sign up for our free daily email newsletter.
What's inside
FAFSA changes cause delays, decrease in applications (Page 11)
Kim Giannetti General Manager kgiannetti@ communityimpact.com
Spring, Klein ISDs face budget shortfalls in fiscal year 2024-25 (Page 12)
Sponsor: Spring ISD
Local STAAR results show declining passage rates Year-over-year standardized test passage rates declined across most subjects in grades 3-8 state- wide as well as in Klein and Spring ISDs, according to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results released June 14. grading system more efficient. A closer look
STAAR passage rate changes, 2023-24 The data shows the difference in percentage points of students who are approaching the grade level—which is considered passing—between the spring 2023 and spring 2024 administrations of the STAAR test in English. Spring ISD Klein ISD Statewide
Despite the declining passage rates for most grade levels, KISD students did show improve- ment in some areas, including: • Fourth grade reading, rising from 82% of students approaching grade level in 2023 to 86% in 2024 • Fourth grade math, rising from 79% of students approaching grade level in 2023 to 80% in 2024 “Klein ISD continued to outperform the state and the region in STAAR scores in nearly every subject and grade level,” said Stacy Kindsfather, executive director of Assessment, Accountability and Research for KISD, in a statement. SISD students also showed improvement in some areas, including: • Fourth grade reading, rising from 67% of students approaching grade level in 2023 and 71% in 2024 • Sixth grade reading, rising from 66% of students approaching grade level in 2023 to 67% in 2024 SISD officials declined to provide a comment regarding the district’s STAAR results.
-10-8-6-4 -2 0 2 4 6
3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade* 7th Grade 8th Grade
The state and districts saw little improvement in the rates of students approaching grade level— which is considered passing—in reading and math between the spring 2023 and spring 2024 adminis- trations of the STAAR in English. According to a June 14 news release from the Texas Education Agency, the decrease in math proficiency can be attributed to learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some context The STAAR was redesigned in 2023, and there were new changes implemented in how tests were graded in 2024. In 2019, House Bill 3906 mandated a redesign of the state’s standardized test, which was primarily administered online from that point forward. The updates also emphasized writing skills and included a larger variety of questions, according to the TEA’s website. According to the TEA, the 2024 tests were graded almost exclusively by computers in an effort by the state to save money and make the
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT *KLEIN ISD AND STATEWIDE AVERAGES SAW NO CHANGE FROM 2023-24 IN SIXTH GRADE READING STAAR SCORES
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SPRING - KLEIN EDITION
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